Eyes of Fire
by Darth Kieduss the Wise
Summary: Gibbs and Tony have saved Kate's life. Their rage burns like fire as they hunt for Ari. Tony's friendship with Kate will change. Based on 9x14 "Life Before His Eyes".
1. Save My Soul

"Shooter!" Kate yelled, dropping her shotgun and running towards Gibbs. She threw herself in front of him and took two bullets to the chest. She slammed to the ground hard, laying on her side. Gibbs and Tony turned as a man started shooting at them. The agents shot the man dead, who did some rolling as he hit the ground.

"Kate?" Gibbs said as he and Tony ran over towards her.

Tony holstered his weapon as he turned Kate over. He unzipped her jacket and Gibbs pulled the jacket apart, revealing two bullets wedged into her bullet proof vest.

"You okay?" Tony asked.

"Ow!" she groaned. "I just got shot at point-blank range, DiNozzo. What do you think?"

"You're not gonna be going to Pilates class tomorrow?" Tony said with a smirk as Kate groaned again. "And that wasn't point-blank range."

"McGee, get air support," Gibbs said. "We got a sniper."

"Okay."

Tony looked up, noticing a flash of light shining against glass and metal from a building not far from them. It was him. That little bastard.

"Stay down, Kate," Tony told her, holding her down. Kate sighed in frustration.

NOT FAR AWAY

Meters away, Ari pulled the trigger. The only sound he heard was a click. His rifle had jammed. He tried to clear the jam in his rifle. The jam didn't clear until he heard a loud droning noise. He looked up to see a white helicopter coming at him. He could see two SWAT men armed with a M4A1 assault rifle and the other armed with a Remington 700 sniper rifle.

Sighing, he folded up his rifle. He knew he couldn't get her today. "Another time, Caitlin. We'll meet again."

ROOFTOP

"Is it safe?" Kate said. "Should we go get him?"

"Stay down, stay down," Gibbs said. He pushed her back down when she tried to get up. "No, damn it. Stay down. Stay still. Nobody move."

_Oh, God, oh God, oh God, help us,_ she prayed.

"He can't get a bead on us," Tony said. "Stay down."

"Should we go now?" Kate said after a few seconds.

"No, no, no, no. Damn it, Kate," Tony told her. "He can't get us. Stay down. Stay still. Don't move."

Few seconds seemed like hours as they maintained a low profile. The only sound they could hear was their heavy breathing and the drone of the helicopter. Kate looked to Tony, Gibbs, and God for deliverance.

"Oh, God," Kate whispered, drowned out by the helicopter. _God, help us. I'm not ready to die._

Tony looked at Gibbs, motioning his head at the edge. Gibbs nodded. Tony rose his head just enough for him to spot Ari, who was moving.

"Yep, I see him. He's running," Tony said after a few seconds. "I think he's going home."

"Maybe," Gibbs agreed. "But he'll be back. He won't stop until he completes his mission."

"Let's get out of here before he comes back," Tony said.

"For once, Tony, I agree with you," Kate said. "Now help me up!"

**Review and I will continue.**


	2. Black Hearts

**Thanks y'all for all the nice reviews. Respect.**

_"There are men who's hearts are as black as coal."_

The team was driving back to NCIS, Gibbs at the wheel, McGee riding shotgun, Tony and Kate in the back, when the former Marine's cell phone went off.

"Gibbs," Gibbs answer. He heard some clapping.

_"Well done, Agent Gibbs,"_ a familiar oily voice said. _"You spotted me before I could take one of you out."_

"Ari," Gibbs hissed. "What an unpleasant surprise. What the hell do you want? I ain't got time for your games."

_"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs,"_ the psychopath said. _"I am not calling to taunt you. I am just complimenting you. Your eye sight has not gone down with age."_

"Well, why don't you come over to NCIS again?" Gibbs smirked. "I'll show you what else I can."

Gibbs heard chuckling on the other end. _"That is a very tempting offer, I assure you, but unfortunately, I have other plans."_

Tony took the phone.

"Listen up, you shit headed fucko," He growled. "you come near us again, I'll tie you down on a tablethen shove an apple in your mouth and my foot up your ass! Then I'll kill you nice...and slow."

Ari simply chuckled again. _"Very well, Mr. DiNozzo. I'll see you in hell. Now, if you all can hear...listen to me, Americans...I do not care about your politics. I do not care about your United States of America. I only live to see you die!"_

He hung up. Tony threw the phone, growling. "Son of a bitch!"

"Tony, calm down!" Kate told him.

Tony sighed, shaking his head in frustration. "I'm sorry, but I'm tired of this bastard. That guy tried to kill Gibbs and now you."

"Tony, listen to me," Gibbs said. "We're gonna get him. Don't you worry about that."

"What are we gonna do now, boss?" Tim asked, nodding his head slightly.

Gibbs turned his head and faced McGee. "We're gonna hunt him down and kill that bastard. We are going to end this, once and for all."

NCIS

"Hey, Tony," Abby greeted her friend. "How are y'all holding up? I heard Kate took two to the chest."

"She's fine," Tony said, smiling.

"What you all smiling about?" Abby asked, adding a smile to her face as well.

"I asked her if she was okay just after she got hit, and she was all 'I just got shot, what do you think?'. Then I said she was going to Pilates."

The two friends laughed.

"Can you keep a secret?" Tony asked.

Abby dropped her mouth. "Tony, are you kidding me? I'm the Master of Keeping Secrets! Now spill!"

"I...I think I..."

"What? Come on! Spit it out!"

"I think that...I'm...developing feelings for...Kate."

Abby's face brightened even more than usual. She hugged her Italian friend. "Aw, Tony! I knew it! Took a little while longer than I expected, but I knew you'd fall for her!"

Tony raised an eyebrow as they separated. "Oh, really?"

Abby scoffed. "Tony, I am an expert at many things, one of them is being able to read body language that indicates someone falling in love."

Tony and Abby laughed together again.

"I don't know how to tell her." Tony was kicking himself mentally. How did Abby notice? Was he really being that obvious?

"You should tell her, before it's too late, before someone else comes along and tells her."

"I love her." Tony said. "I don't like her, I love her."

Abby didn't see this coming and Tony's words hit her like those huge lumbering buses in London. After a few moments of silence, she spoke up. "Then you definitely need to tell her, before someone else takes her."

"I am pretty sure the feelings are not mutual."

"Tony, what did I just tell earlier?" Abby scoffed. "I'm an expert at body language. I've seen the way she looks at you."

Tony raised his head in shock and curiosity. "In what way?"

Abby scrunched her face. "Not exactly love, but interest. She's cautious, but interested. Very interested. The only thing that turns her off is your constant jackassness. You have to admit you can be a jackass."

"I'll try to work on that," Tony said, nodding his head.

"Once she sees that you've matured and grown up," Abby continued. "She'll become more interested and more willing to pursue a relationship with you. But you've also gotta catch her off guard, be unpredictable. Girls love guys are unpredictable."

Tony smiled, bowing his head. "Thank you, Master, for the advice. I still have much to learn."

"You're welcome, my young Padawan," Abby said, snickering. "Now, what do you have for me?"

Tony pulled out a bag which contained with containers, which contained three bullet casings.

".308 casings from Ari's sniper's nest, the ones he tried to kill Kate with."

He handed it to the science expert.

"You would have to give me the most popular caliber in the world."

"Well, hey. I just found 'em," Tony simply explained. "Can you tell me what weapon he used?"

"A .308."

"What model .308?"

"You don't know?"

"Would I be asking?"

"Well, how am I supposed to know?"

"Because you're best firearms expert in America if not the world."

Abby smiled. "That I am." She put on gloves. "And when I'm done, I will be able to tell you the propellant, the primer, the percentage of nickel and copper in the brass, whether or not all three rounds were fired from the same weapon which you assume, but I can prove or disprove. I will tell you who manufactured the ammo, the batch number and, perhaps, where it was sold. I will also, with some degree of accuracy, tell you if it was fired from a lever-action, a bolt-action, a semi-automatic or an automatic weapon. However, there is no way in hell I could tell you which of the 87 different .308 models fired those rounds."

"The rounds are Lapua," Tony said.

"What?" Abby asked in confusion.

Tony looked at her. "Lapua made the ammo. The logo's right on the rim."

**Review.**


	3. Strong as the Wind and Tides

_"There are hungers as strong as the wind and tides."_

Gibbs took a step outside to calm down. The rain was relaxing. Coffee in hand, he strolled around the building.

Gibbs ducked as something whooshed by him, he instantly bent backwards as if he was Neo from The Matrix. Glass broke and Abby screamed. The sound of the shot came a second later.

Abby's scream near just stopped Gibbs' heart. He also saw her and Tony go down.

His stomach twisted at the thought of losing one of his team, especially Abby. His coffee cup slipped from his uncaring grasp as he took off at a sprint to the door, waiting impatiently for the retina scanner to identify him and then flying through the corridors and stairways to Abby's lab.

INSIDE

"You hit?" Tony asked. His body was hovering over the little Goth's body. They were positioned and holding each other as if they were doing the dirty business.

"No...You're heavy."

"Sorry," Tony croaked. He got up and pulled Abby by her right hand to cover. She grunted as her body was dragged across the floor, broken class clinking. Tony pulled out his Sig Sauer 1911.

Abby felt his legs, shocked at the firmness and stiffness that covered his body. "My God, no wonder you're so heavy. Tony, you're all muscle."

"Abby, shh!" Tony said, moving around Abby to get a better view from the window without exposing himself to enemy fire. That's when he felt a hand smack his ass.

"Packing a nice booty, too."

Tony turned to face his frightened friend. "Hey! Is this how you deal with getting shot at?"

"I don't know. It's my first time."

"Abby!" Gibbs yelled as he and Kate came in, guns drawn.

"Boss, Kate, down!" Tony whispered-yelled. "We're taking fire."

Never in his entire life had he been so relieved to hear Tony's voice. Abby was under the window, out of sight, Tony and Kate crouched beside her, guns out, all business.

Relief mingled with panic as he took in the dark lab that was still somehow all too bright. He sped through the room, switching off any machines that even blinked, including Abby's refrigerator.

OUTSIDE

Across the river, a Hamas agent looked through his sniper rifle's scope at the NCIS building. He frowned as the lights were turned off.

Then he smiled again. He pulled on the bolt lever, catching the bullet casing in his gloved hand. He tossed the gold casing outside into the pouring rain.

He started up the car and drove away.

NCIS

"You okay?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, we think so," Abby said.

"Close off Anacostia Park between the bridges," Gibbs told them. "Tell Metro cops it's a crime scene."

"Okay, right," Kate said, trying to stand up. A hand held her down.

"No, I'll go," Tony said. "You've risked your life long enough. Now it's my turn."

Tony started to get up, but another hand held him down.

"Hey! Wait!" Gibbs grabbed Tony's leg and yanked him down, "What if he has a night-vision scope?"

Tony went even paler as he realized his near mistake.

"That's a good point, boss." Tony said, gritting his teeth for not thinking of that. He crept out of the lab, staying low and moving swiftly.

"I will get you bullet-proof glass," Gibbs told the girl who was like a daughter to him.

"There's no such thing, Gibbs!"

"Okay, bullet-resistant glass," Kate reiterated as Gibbs pulled some glass shards out of Abby's hair. "Gibbs, I don't think Ari shot at you and hit me in the chest by mistake, did he? He's after us now."

"I was walking by that window when he fired," Gibbs tried to assure her.

"You're just saying that to make us feel safe," Abby told him.

Gibbs and Kate held Abby in their arms.

"I'll keep you safe, Abby," Gibbs said, kissing her head. "I promise."

"We," Kate emphasized. "We'll keep you safe. We promise."

"Whatever," Gibbs groaned.

AUTOPSY

After writing on the containers that held the bullets from the sniper's nest, Ducky heard the doors open.

"Hey, Ducky," Kate said.

"Caitlin," Ducky greeted. "What honor do I owe your visit?"

"I just came for the bullets from the perps. Hey, if I was killed, I know you would keep my face covered in front of the others. Especially Tony."

"Yes, I know how modest you are," Ducky said, smiling.

Kate chuckled. "I could've killed Ari right here. In Autopsy."

_Kate grabbed the scalpel. She lunged at him, but his training blocked the blow. He twisted her arm and pulled out his silenced gun at Ducky._

"Why did you hesitate?" Ducky asked his friend.

"His eyes," Kate said. "I think there was something in his eyes that made me not wanna kill him."

Ducky felt bewildered. "His eyes were like ice to me."

Kate nodded in undestanding.

"Ari fired into Abby's lab."

"Good Lord!" Ducky exclaimed.

"It had to have come from across the river Anacostia Park."

"Was Abigail hurt?"

"No, she's a little shook up. Tony's with her."

"In the lab?"

"In the squad room writing up an incident report. It's standard procedure."

"Kate, go see Abby," Gibbs said. Kate didn't hesitate this time.

"I hope she's all right," Ducky said, bringing a glass bottle. He poured Bourbon in two glasses.

"I've lost men in combat," Gibbs said, leaning on another table as Ducky handed him some Bourbon. "You hope you don't. You know you will."

"This is different," Ducky said, taking a sip.

"But it shouldn't be," Gibbs said, looking at Ducky. "Kate is an agent. She knows she has to lay down her life on the line. All of you do."

"Well-"

"But you're right. It's different."

"Well, you just said it. You've lost men. Have you ever lost a woman? Let's face it, Jethro, you and I are a couple of old chauvinists. Women will never be equal in our eyes until they are equal in death."

"Why, Ducky? Why did he try to kill Todd? Why not me?"

"Well, maybe he meant to hit you."

"No. No. Him sniping Abby means he's after my people. Women first."

"Hmm, then he's torturing you. One has to wonder what made him such a sadist."

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN! I just wanna kill the bastard!"

GARAGE

"Hey, McGee!" Abby called from the trunk of a car. "Take a look at this!"

McGee put down the seat he was carrying and came over to Abby.

"I think it's a .308..." Abby said, holding a casing. She sighed as McGee didn't respond. "Stop staring at my ass and get me an evidence jar."

McGee went over to a table, got an evidence jar and went back to Abby.

"Drop it," McGee said, Abby let go, dropping the casing. McGee put the lid on the jar and put it down on the table.

As McGee looked back, he was stunned by the sight in front of him.

"Oh, I found another one."

McGee jumped a bit as he realized Gibbs was behind him.

"Boss, uh, we-we-we found a .308 slug."

"Mm," the man simply said.

Abby finally came up, holding another casing in a pair of blue plastic tweezers. "Two. They were plugged in the trunk."

Abby put that in another jar.

"These fired by the dirt bag at the warehouse?" Gibbs asked, looking at the evidence jars containing other bullets.

"Yes. Those I found in the right side of the car. Nine mil slugs." Abby pointed at the holes on the side of the car.

"Ari missed with his first shot," McGee said. "Hit the controller with the second."

"Where were you before you took cover?"

"Uh...Right here," McGee said, moving to the left side of the car, crouching.

"Tony's right," Gibbs said. "You do owe that terrorist a thank you."

That's went Tony and Kate came in. "He didn't police his brass again," Tony said.

"Metro P.D. found a .308 casing in the park next to tire tracks," Kate added."

"And?"

"Nothing," Tony said. "I was waiting for you to tell us to tell them to bring the evidence."

"What, I have to tell you that, DiNozzo?"

"You always do," Kate pointed out as Gibbs scanned his eye on the retinal scanner.

"Tell Metro P.D. to-"

"Already did, boss."

As the elevator door opened, Gibbs simply smiled.

"Oh, and by the way, the director wants to see you up in MTAC," Kate called, Tony raising a thumbs up.

Abby stared at a smiling DiNozzo.

"Why are you baiting Gibbs?"

"I'm trying to get him to stop being nice."

McGee came forward. "I like him nice."

Kate, Abby and Tony stared him...just before all three of them smacked him in the head.

MTAC

Gibbs came in the crowded room and took his seat next to Morrow.

"Signal is strong. We have a solid channel," a woman said. "Distributing the infrared-"

"What do you have?" Morrow asked his best agent as he watched the screen in front of him. On it was a simple empty dirt road in front of mountains.

"Brass from Ari's sniper's nests. Three bullets. Tire tracks in Anascostia Park where he fired a shot across the river into our forensics lab."

"Unusual for a sniper not to police his brass, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

"I've received calls from every director to hunt down this sniper as if he'd killed one of their own."

"FBI might be the most help. Ari Haswari is their mole."

"I endorsed your recommendation to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Special Agent Todd for her bravery."

"Thank you, sir."

"According to your After Action Report, no one actually saw the sniper tried to kill Agent Todd."

"Ari was on a rooftop 600 meters away."

"Extraordinary shot."

"No, sir. Not really."

"You were a sniper in the Marine Corps, weren't you?"

"Two tours."

"Vietnam?"

Gibbs scoffed. "I'm not that old, sir. Panama, Desert Storm."

"I thought you were older."

"Target vehicle approaching," a woman said. On the screen, a huge van came in view as someone zoomed in.

"Acquiring target," a voice said in Hebrew.

"We have a hard lock," someone said in English.

"Target confirmed," a man in MTAC said. "Engage."

"Weapon free," a pilot said. "Good lock. On target."

The van on the screen exploded as a missile struck it.

"Confirming target hit," the man in MTAC said in Hebrew.

"Well done," someone said.

"Good job everyone."

Everyone but Morrow, Gibbs and a woman down in front left.

"Where was I?" Morrow asking.

"Avoiding using Ari's name and the word 'sniper' in the same sentence, sir," Gibbs pointed out.

"Your anger is understandable, Jethro. You almost lost an agent. You want payback."

"Don't you, sir?"

"It's a passion I can't afford."

"Do you honestly think it wasn't Ari?"

"No. But there are those who do."

Gibbs chuckled. "Those who ran him. Those who thought they had the Holy Grail of moles. Those people covering their asses right now."

"Make sure you cover yours when you bring him in."

"It won't be a problem, sir. I won't be bringing him in."

"Anyway," Morrow said, getting up. "You're not my problem anymore, Jethro."

"Are you firing me, sir?"

"I've been offered a deputy director's position at Homeland Security."

"You'd leave NCIS, sir?"

"Well, the agency could use some younger blood."

"Well, who would be replacing you, sir?"

Morrow stared at him with a half-smile. Gibbs shook his head.

"Not me."

Morrow laughed. "As much as I like you, Jethro, I would not shoot NCIS in the head..."

With that, he left, saying, "He's your problem now, director."

A red haired woman stood up and faced the famous NCIS agent. "Hello, Jethro."

Gibbs raised his head and sighed, remembering his time in Europe with Jenny Shepard, including the kinky moments.

"Should we skip the 'you haven't changed a bit' bullshit?" Jenny asked when Gibbs didn't respond.

"Why start lying to each other now, Jen?" Gibbs said, shrugging.

"Any problem taking orders from me?"

"As director or as a woman?"

"Either."

Gibbs shook his head as he stood up and walked towards his ex-lover. "It was six years ago. The past won't be a problem. As they say in Ireland, 'it'll be a piece of piss'. You were a damn good agent, especially undercover."

"Jethro."

Gibbs smiled. "Madam Director."

**Review this Chapter**


	4. Red Cell

"You have no physical evidence linking Ari to the shootings," Shepard told Gibbs as they left MTAC. "No wonder agencies here and abroad have doubts.

"This bastard already tried kill one of my people," Gibbs simply replied. "He's trying to kill more. I'll tell you something else. No suit with a tight asshole is getting in my way and that includes you, Jen."

"Special Agent Gibbs," Shepard barked, crossing her arms.

Gibbs stopped on a dime and turned to face the beautiful redhead. He walked back up towards her.

"On the job, it is Director Shepard or ma'am," she told him.

"Okay. What about off the job?"

"There won't be any 'off the job', Agent Gibbs."

"That's too bad. I missed you, Jen."

Jen's face saddened. "Don't make this difficult, Jethro."

Gibbs nodded. "Fair enough. It won't happen again...Director."

They both continued walking. "We can continue this conversation in private."

"I've gotta change my clothes," Gibbs said. "We can talk in my car."

"Gibbs..."

"Hey, I got agents whose lives are being threatened and a sniper on the loose. I do not have 10 minutes to spare. Kate, where are we?"

"McGee and Abby are working firearms analysis. I'm matching tire tracks to vehicles. Tony'll be back soon."

"What the hell is he doing?" Gibbs said.

"Went out to get something to eat, I guess."

"Get him back here. No one is to leave the building. McGee's on protection detail with Abby. I'll be back in an hour."

Kate looked at Gibbs and Shepard with interest as they left.

For a moment, the woman standing nearby just took in her appearance. She was definitely tired, stressed, and she was grieving as well, though one would not guess it from her expression. She was quite a beautiful woman, with an air about her that suggested she knew it. Surprisingly, this did not detract from her appeal. This had to be Caitlin Todd, the former Secret Service agent. The woman moved forward to introduce herself.

She finally noticed her.

"Hi. I was just-"

"Thinking?" the woman asked.

Kate laughed. "No. Yeah. Everyone stares off into space sometimes. Who are you?"

The woman presented a Mossad I.D. "Ziva David. Mossad."

Kate looked at the I.D., then at Ziva. "You're Israeli?"

Ziva smiled.

"Very good. The way you made that connection. Mossad, Israeli."

"I was in the Secret Service. We tend to know what agency is with what country. Now, what can I do for you, Ms. David?"

"Nothing. I'm here to see Special Agent Gibbs," Ziva said as she sat in McGee's chair. "He'll be back in an hour. Are you sure I can't help you?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I don't think so."

"We got off to a bad start," Kate said. "I'm Special Agent Caitlin Todd. Now, you can just sit there or you could tell me what you need and maybe I can help."

Ziva looked Kate before standing up. "You can't help because I'm here to stop Special Agents DiNozzo and Gibbs from killing a Mossad officer."

"Ari Haswari?"

"Yes," Ziva said as she stood in front of Kate's desk.

Kate motioned Ziva to come closer. "I'd wish you luck, but I want the son of a bitch dead, too."

Ziva resisted the urge to glare at her.

NORFOLK

Tony went to a local fast food restaurant to deal with his frustration. A black chef cooked him up cornmeal muffins and bacon. Tony wolfed his down. He filled the screw-on cup that doubled as a canteen lid with chicory-laced coffee. It made him feel nearly alive. He was gulfing down a second cup when a familiar face arrived in his line of vision.

"Washington is such a lovely city this time of year," Ari said as he sat down in front of Tony, putting sugar in some coffee. "Don't you agree, Special Agent DiNozzo?"

Tony just glared at him.

"Not much of a conversationalist, are we?"

"The only reason I'm not grinding your ass into the ground is because my coffee hasn't kicked in yet," Tony snarled. "And I'm mostly waiting here, asshole."

"Oh, for what?"

"Another reason to kill you. Someone tried to kill my team yesterday. I'm thinking it was you."

"You wound me, Tony," Ari chukcled. "If it was me, they'd be dead already."

"You're still coming in with me for questioning."

"Unfortunately, I have made other arrangements for the evening."

"That wasn't a request," Tony growled. Ari could sense the seething rage and hatred in the special agent's voice. _And I thought Gibbs had the temper._

"I know. That's why I took the precaution of planting an improvised explosive device under one of these tables," Ari said firmly. He waved at a young girl and her mother. "Be a good NCIS agent, I may even tell you where it is."

"Besides being the biggest asshole in the world since Hitler, what are you doing here?"

"What, I can't have a simply civilized conversation with someone?"

"Not with me," Tony said, still seething. "And you know why."

"Okay, you're right," Ari said, smiling. He told Tony the same thing he told Gibbs about the cell planning an attack on Washington.

"Now, I must go."

"Back your cave in Helll," Tony said, wishing he could slug the rogue agent.

"How's Caitlin, by the way?" Ari chuckled. He was surprised at the amount of rage that showed on Tony's life when he mentioned the beautiful woman. "I've thought of her often since my last visit."

"You go anywhere near her, and I don't care what government agency or organization is watching your back, I will kill you."

Ari smirked. "I wouldn't have it any other way...You love her...don't you?"

Tony blinked. "What?"

"You have feelings for Caitlin. Deep, romantic feelings. I can see it in your eyes."

"No way in hell. She's my partner. Our relationship is strictly professional. But if you come near her, I don't care what happens, I will find you, and I will kill you."

Ari chuckled. "You're lips say 'no', but your eyes say yes. You can't hide your feelings from your heart, no matter how deeply you bury them. A word of advice: make a move, soon. Because if you don't, somebody else will."

For a moment, Tony actually thought about it. Could he and Kate actually be an item? They constantly bickered, but

Ari started to walk away, when Tony stood. "Where is the device?"

"Oh, I almost forgot," Ari said as he climbed on his motorcycle. "I lied. There is none."

Putting on his helmet, Ari revved the engines and zoomed off. Tony gave him the middle finger. Then he looked under his table. Underneath was a small plastic box with red and green wires attached and a black square with a rapidly blinking red light. On a screen in front of the black box, was

0:30...0:29...0:28...

Thinking fast, Tony ripped the damn thing off the underside of the table, ran out of the restaurant.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Tony whispered. He spotted a green dumpster and zoomed for it. When he was 3 yards away, his college football training kicked in as he tossed it. The bomb landed in the dumpster. Three seconds later, it erupted in a hellish fireball. The pavement shuddered violently under his feet. An instant later the blast wave hit him with a deafening noise, followed by an enormous roaring, crashing sound, accentuated by the higher-pitched noise of shattering glass all around him. He was knocked flat on his stomach.

**Review.**


	5. Break

NCIS ROOF  
>11:40 P.M.<p>

Alone on the rooftop, Tony struck a match on the sandpaper-cement ledge, lit a Salem, and dropped the match at his feet. He crushed the burned match-head with his heel, and took a puff of the cigarette.

He stared at the stars. He stared as if expecting the stars to give him an answer to an unasked question.

He pursed his lips around the end of his cigarette, inhaled and puffed. Then Break by Three Days Grace sounded.

_"Break away from everybody! Break away from everything!"_

Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

PAULA CASSIDY

Tony hit the green button and held the phone to his ear. "Hey, Paula."

_"Hey Tony,"_ a familiar voice said.

"Hey," Tony softly answered. "How you doing, Paula?"

_"I should be asking you that. I heard someone tried to kill Kate. I'm so sorry, Tony. I know how close y'all are."_

"Thanks," Tony said, taking another puff. "It means a lot to hear that."

_"Are you smoking?"_

"How did you know?" Tony asked, immediately tossing the cigarette on the ground and crushing it with his Italian made boot.

_"I heard you take a puff."_

"Yeah, I've been trying to quit. I'm so pissed. Kate and I are like siblings."

_"I know. I saw that in Gitmo and on the _Kennedy_. You two are inseparable. Tony, I want you to know that I'm always here for you."_

Tony nodded, knowing she couldn't see him. "Thanks. That means a lot to know that. Thank you."

_"If there's anything I can do to help you, just name it."_

"It must be Christmas, because you're spoiling me."

_Paula chuckled. "Christmas, eh? I'm afraid I've been a bad girl."_

"I don't doubt that. Won't argue with that..." Tony hesitated for a moment, then found the courage to speak. "Actually, I think there is a way you can help."

_"Name it."_

"It's about Kate."

_"Okay."_

"Something has been happening between me and her. I'm don't know if this is stress, or just blowing off steam, or..."

_"You care about her...Intimately."_

Tony scoffed. "Am I really that obvious?"

_"Tony, you're you."_

Tony nodded again. "This is true."

_"And you want me to tell you how to make her fall head over heals in love with you, don't you?"_

"Wow, I really am that obvious. And not exactly. I just want to know how I'm not the immature jackass I used to be. You're right. I do love her. But I don't know how to show her that I love her."

_"Tony, you just gotta be yourself, but lay off on the gender based jokes."_

Tony made a not-surprised look. "Where have I heard that before..."

_"You care about her. And you think she cares about you, right?"_

Tony sighed. "I don't know. Every time I see her, my chest contracts and I can't breath. Sometimes, I'm in agony when I realize that I can't bring up the courage to tell her."

_"Tony, just be kind, sweet, and unpredictable in a romantic way. Know when to back off, know when to press on. Just be Prince Charming."_

Tony laughed. "Yeah, like I tried with you?"

_"Yeah. Talk to you, later, Tony,"_ Paula said. _"Good luck. Bye."_

"Thanks, bye," Tony said. Then he smiled. "Wait...I have to ask...you're not jealous, are you?"

_"Good bye, Tony,"_ Paula chuckled before hanging up.

**This is all I could come up with. Review.**


	6. David and Shepard

_"Shiver my Bones. There are secrets that sleep with ol' Davy Jones."_

GIBBS' BASEMENT

Gibbs came downstairs to see a familiar beautiful woman sitting in a chair with a piece of wood work in her hands.

"Is this the same boat you were building six years ago?" Shepard asked.

"Nope."

"What happened to it?"

"I burned her."

"Why would you-?"

Gibbs just looked at her.

"You named it after an ex-wife, didn't you?" she asked.

Gibbs turned off a light, then waved her to follow him. "Let's go."

"Which one?" Shepard asked with a smirk.

Gibbs stood between the frames of his new boat. "You know damn well which one."

"Why didn't you change the name?"

"Because it wouldn't matter. Every time I went out on her, I'd think of Diane."

"You could have sold it."

"And watched some other guy sail off on her?"

"You didn't care who sailed off on _Diane_...Leroy Jethro Gibbs, you are a strange man."

"Me?" Gibbs scoffed, coming around the boat. "You were a good agent, Jen."

"Were?"

"Yeah. The Director's job is pure politics."

"I'm good at politics. NCIS needs someone who can shake the money tree out of the Hill and work with sister agencies."

"Wait, you won't call a boat a 'she', but it's 'sister agencies'?"

"I'm a schizoid libber. It comes from working with chauvinists like you."

"I can't believe you would give up fieldwork for rubber-chicken dinners."

"I don't think they serve that dish at Palena."

"Never heard of it," Gibbs said as he went up the stairs.

"Why would you? It isn't takeout."

"So which of the tight sphincters is taking you out to dinner? Please, tell me it's _not_ Fornell."

"CBS _Early Show. _They want background before I go on TV."

Gibbs went back down, coming face to face with Shepard. "Jen. Jen, you can't do that."

"Excuse me?"

"Ari is a chauvinist. He worked to kill the foreigners I work with. Now, he is taking out the women I work with before possibly the men, then me."

"Jethro. People who should don't believe Ari Haswari is the sniper. And you haven't provided any evidence to prove them wrong."

Gibbs took one step closer. "Have you ever doubted me?"

"Professionally? Never."

"Then why are you doubting me now?" he asked sincerlly.

"I have to establish a working relationship with these people," Shepard flat out stated.

"Who are you gonna side with, Jen? Them...or me?"

"Give me a tough question."

Gibbs simply stood aside to let her pass.

NCIS  
>ABBY'S LAB<p>

As workers installed the bullet resistant glass, McGee paced back and forth.

"Can you go back to the squad room and let me do my job?" Abby asked.

"I can't."

Abby glared at him. "Why?"

McGee swallowed. "Gibbs-and Tony told me watch over you."

Abby still glared at him. "Oh..." Then she smiled, turning back to her work. "That is so sweet!"

SQUAD ROOM

"You're from a wealthy family," Ziva told Tony.

"Really."

"Born and raised on the East Coast. New England boarding school. Spent some time in the Midwest and Philadelphia."

"How would you know that?" Tony said. Ziva just smiled at him.

"She's Mossad, Tony," Kate said. "They specialize in intelligence gathering."

The elevator binged, then Shepard and Gibbs walked out.

"_Shalom_, Jen."

"Shalom."

Both women kissed each others' cheeks as Kate and Tony gathered with Gibbs at his desk.

"Did I miss it?" Ziva asked.

"Yes, you did, but we didn't," Shepard answered.

"You first," Gibbs said to his two agents.

"Ziva David," Kate said.

"Mossad," Tony added. "She's here to stop you from whacking Ari, yours?"

"Director Jenny Shepard," Gibbs explained. "Same mission."

"Which agency?" Kate asked.

"Ours."

Tony tried to scoff. Gibbs gave him a look.

"Yeah?"

"Special Agent Gibbs," Shepard said. "Ziva David. Mossad."

"Ziva," Ziva greeted, shaking hands with Gibbs. "Director Shepard has spoken often of you."

"Really?"

"Ziva and I worked anti-terrorist ops since 9/11," Shepard explained. "You saw one today in MTAC."

"That was yours?"

"I only acquired the intel," Ziva said, looking at Shepard. Then her phone rang. "Excuse me."

Tony and Kate looked at Shepard.

"Yes, I really am the new NCIS Director."

"Yeah," Tony said, nodding his head as she left. "Wow."

Gibbs came around and slapped him.

"Good to have you back, boss!" Tony called, as Kate chuckled.

"Really? You're eyeing her?" she taunted.

"I was just...I don't know."

Kate laughed again.

"I have a new relationship with the new NCIS director and may be able to convince her of your innocence_,_" Ziva said in Hebrew to her phone. "But not Special Agent Gibbs. He's a man with blood in his eyes."

_"Let me worry about Gibbs,"_ Ari responded in Hebrew. _"Do you have the passport and money?"_

"Yes."

_"Use the drop...Tonight."_

"I want to see you."

_"Too risky. Gibbs will have you followed. We'll meet in Paris after the mission is over. I promise."_

"Ari...I don't want to lose you, too."

_"You won't. Shalom."_


	7. Here I Am

Ziva ended the phone call and placed her phone in her jacket.

"Miss David," Gibbs said. "Whose balls get cut off if Ari is not a Mossad mole, but a terrorist?"

"Mine, I suppose," Ziva answered. "Since I'm his control officer."

"Ahh, they promote control officers young in the Mossad."

"Have to. The good ones are dead at your age."

Gibbs gave a half smile.

"Do you know how I located Ari's terrorist cell?" Tony asked.

"A GPS fix off his encrypted cell phone. He wanted you to know the terrorists' location, so you could stop the missile instead of him, which would have necessitated blowing his cover."

"Only an NSA satellite can GPS an encrypted phone," Gibbs said. "Ari didn't know we had that asset."

"You give him less credit than he gives you, Gibbs," Ziva chuckled. "Who hung up first? You or him?"

_Gibbs motioned the men in MTAC to cut the call._

"Ari knows a fix takes only 19 seconds," Ziva continued. "When Sharon visited Bush, Ari's Hamas cell kidnapped Agent Todd. Why didn't he kill you, Miss Todd, instead of freeing you to warn the Secret Service?"

"He's a jackass son of a bitch who either tried to get me in bed or seduce me to Hamas," Kate snarled. For a very brief moment, Kate saw a flash of rage cover Tony's face at the mention of the first option.

"No!" Ziva barked. "I admit Ari can be a jackass, but there are two things that he is not. He's not a horndog or a Hamas terrorist."

"She's just saying," Tony said. Ziva glared at Tony.

"Why don't you arrange a meet and he can tell me?" Gibbs remarked.

"Ari Haswari is a Mossad operative undercover in Hamas. He hasn't turned on us or you. He didn't try to kill Agent Todd!"

"Gibbs, even if you're right," Shepard added. "we owe them proof."

"That's all we ask," Ziva said. "Don't kill the wrong man."

"Like Mossad did in Norway?" Gibbs said, referring to the killing by Mossad agents of a Moroccan waiter, Ahmed Bouchiki, in Lillehammer, Norway on July 21, 1973. The Israeli agents had mistaken their victim for Ali Hassan Salameh, the chief of operations for Black September. Most of the Mossad team were captured and convicted of complicity in the killing by the Norwegian justice system, in a major blow to the intelligence agency's reputation.

"That mistake cost us dearly!" Ziva snarled.

"Not as dearly as the Moroccan waiter you killed."

"Ziva, assure your Deputy Director that even though Ari Haswari is a suspect," Shepard told Ziva. "No action will be taken unless we have evidentiary proof..." she turned to Gibbs. "Proof before action."

Gibbs stood up and walked away.

ABBY'S LAB

Abby took sniper rifles and fired one shot each as McGee watched in protective detail. She fired one shot, put down the rifle, retrieved the bullet and casing, put them in different jars and wrote down the mandatory information regarding each shot.

"Hey, Kate?" Tony finally spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Let say I'm sorry for being such a jackass these past two years," Tony said. "I get most of that from my father. But I can be serious sometimes. Abby says that I'm 'Soft and Goofy on the outside but Hard As Rock on the inside'. I've also been under a lot of stress these past two years."

"What could you be so stressed about for two years?"

"I think I know why I pursue women like I have in the past..."

"Cause you're 'soft and goofy on the outside'?" Kate playfully teased.

Tony chuckled. "No. That's my humor."

"Then what could it be?"

Tony looked at his hands, which were shaking. "I know you're gonna laugh about this, but two years ago...I was engaged to a woman."

Kate used all of her might not to laugh out of respect. She only managed to snicker. "You? Tony DiNozzo? Engaged? To a woman?"

"I know that it's hilarious to think about," Tony tried to chuckle.

"Yeah, especially with your commitment issues..." Then she turned serious. "Who was the lady?"

"Wendy Miller. I-"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs called. "With me."

"We'll talk later," Tony whispered.

As the elevator doors closed, Gibbs leaned in to talk in Tony's ear. "Tomorrow morning, I want you on Ziva's ass."

"She's not really my type, boss," Tony said, not wanting to hurt Kate. Gibbs slapped him.

"To _tail _her."

"I knew that," Tony lied.

"She's been in contact with Ari. That's the only way she could know I hung up on him."

"Ooh. I don't want you to get pissed-"

"I thought you wanted me pissed?"

"I did. It was kind of weird when you were being nice. Not that you're...not nice. I mean, uh-"

"Will you spit it out, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said as the doors opened.

"What if Ziva's right and Ari knew you'd trace the call? Maybe he wasn't the sniper."

"She is right," Gibbs admitted. "Ari wanted me to raid the warehouse. He set me up and it almost cost Kate her life."

"Is he a mole or a terrorist?" Tony asked, holding the doors open.

"Whatever works to play his game. He's a narcissistic psycopath."

"If Ziva leads me to Ari...?"

"Shadow him and call me."

"So you can bring him in."

"Yeah. So I can bring him in..." Gibbs said, then he whispered, "...to autopsy."

"Oh, he'll be in autopsy, Gibbs," Tony said, smiling with evil mischief. "I promise you that. He...will...die."

"I know. Now, go home. Get some rest."

"Boss, uh...I don't know how exactly to tell you this...but, uh...know that he placed a bomb under the table I was sitting at."

Gibbs stopped in his tracks and turned. "You mean he was there?"

"And I couldn't kill him in public or arrest him without risking people's lives," Tony said. "He basically told me the same thing you did before the warehouse incident...You're not mad at me, are you boss?"

At first, yeah, he was. But he calmed. "No, I'm not. You did the right thing, Tony. You put the safety of other people first. You did good. As I said, go home. Get some rest."

"On it, boss."

TONY'S APARTMENT

As Tony isolated his apartment key and gripped the rest of the keys. Then he stood back and observed his key chain.

"Why do I have so many fucking keys?" Tony finally said. "I use two, and I have ten keys. In my sleep, did I murder a janitor and steal his keys? Oh, well."

Eventually, Tony was sleeping in the bedroom.

Outside the apartment door, a man picked the lock on Tony's door. When the familiar clicks of an unlocked door sounded, the man silently opened the door. Picking up the red metal canisters by his side, he vampired his way into the apartment without making a sound.

Tony dreamt about Kate. She was slouching provocatively in her chair at work...wearing a Catholic school girl outfit. She was smiling at Tony with a lollipop in her mouth.

As Tony dreamt, the man loitering in the living room undid the lids on the canisters. Making sure not to wake up the agent upstairs, the man gently poured the liquid contents of the canisters throughout the living room, including the drapes, curtains, couch, and flat screen TV. He even covered the photos of Tony and his family. He stared at one of Kate and Tony. When the first canister was empty, the man picked up the second one and covered the kitchen with it, including the cabinet and refrigerator.

When the only scent around was the aroma of gasoline, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a match. Using his thumb to strike the head of the match, a tiny flame to appeared on it. Satisfied, the man tilted the match, then dropped it on the couch.

The living room lit up like a Roman candle. The flames crackled as the room filled with smoke and flames. The flames illuminated the darkness. Smoke billowed from the windows. The crackling of the burning apartment room finally awakened Tony. The heat beckoned him to get up.

"What the hell?" Tony groaned, rubbing his head. "Why's it so...Oh, shit! Aw, shit!"

He leapt out of bed and managed to grab his cell phone before he hit the floor. His recent encounter with the plague combined with smoke would bring hell upon his lungs.

Deep black smock encircled Tony as he crawled his way towards the door. His eyes burned from the smoke he tried to say under. He dialed three numbers. 9...1...1. The phone rang for seconds that seemed like hundreds of years. When a female voice answered, Tony started screaming.

"MY APARTMENT IS ON FIRE!"

Ari Haswari smiled as he watched from the shadows. He felt the anticipation rising in him as he knew the first responders would be too late. They were always too late to save the building, which brought him pure joy knowing he could not be defeated.

He drove away from the scene, smiling as the flames whipped into the sky.

EN ROUTE TO TONY'S PLACE

Kate couldn't sleep, so she snuck out of NCIS and decided to talk to Tony about this 'Wendy Miller'. She noted that she felt _more_ drawn to him since the plague. She always had a soft spot for him, but since the plague, that spot started to turn into something more.

Then she heard the sirens in the distance. The sirens were coming closer and closer. She pulled over as she noticed a fire truck was coming. It was going in the same direction as Kate was. A horrifying thought popped in her head.

"God, please don't make it take a right turn..."

Yep. It turned right. Kate's heart nearly pounded out of her chest as a sudden realization kicked in.

"TONY!" she screamed as she literally put the pedal to the metal. When she finally arrived at Tony's apartment, one of her worst fears had been realized. The building was completely engulfed in dancing yellow and orange and puffy black. She parke and jumped out.

Other people were running and screaming out of the building as it burned. Firefighters were quickly on the scene, working to put out the fire and getting people away from the apartment.

"Tony!" Kate screamed as she ran toward the apartment. She threw her arms up in front of her to block out some of the searing heat. She had to find him. This wasn't supposed to happen. She couldn't lose him, the angel she had wanted to let in her life.

"Tony!" she screamed for what seemed like the millionth time.

Tony moved quickly through the smoke and flames as the ceiling above him cracked. He proceeded into the living room. He moved toward the door, trying to fight off the pain the smoke endured on his plague scarred lungs. He finally gathered the strength to stand up.

Tony could see a image of beauty standing outside the exit door, screaming his name. He smiled.

"Kate!" Her name came out as a choking cough.

He was within inches of the exit door when the rafters creaked and a large piece of burning wood looked like it was about to fall from the ceiling. Tony took a step forward, which resulted in the floor creaking. He noticed that the floor around was about to break apart and send him into the basement of the building. He looked at Kate and said, "Ah, fuck me."

He had no time to move as he braced himself for the impact as the ceiling collapsed into flaming pieces above him and the floor shattered.

"TONY!" Kate screamed at the top of her lungs.

**Review.**


	8. Here Is The Fire

_Genesis 22:7 "Here I am, Father. Here is the Fire and Here is the Wood."_

Kate shrieked Tony's name at the top of lungs as she charged at the apartments. Two firefighters in yellow held her back.

"Ma'am, stop! Don't!"

"Stop! Stop!"

"He's burning to death!" Kate yelled, struggling to get free from their arms. "Are you just gonna stand here?"

"Look at it ma'am, it's over!" one firearm yelled when Kate finally stopped. "It's too late, ma'am. I'm sorry."

Kate's lips started quivering and she sobbed as Gibbs came up behind her. She cried on his shoulder as he took her into his arms.

"He's gone, Gibbs!" Kate sobbed. "He's gone! He's really gone!"

Gibbs didn't say anything as he held her tight as firemen fought the fire. The flames eventually dwindled into embers and smoke. So far, no one was dead. 13 people were treated for smoke inhalation, but no casualties. After an hour, NCIS were cleared to investigate. The firearm told them to be careful when entering because there was a big hole right behind the front entrance, and things were falling down from the floors above."

"Thank God it wasn't a benzene fire," Ducky said. "It appears that our arsonist used simple kerosene."

"What's the difference?" McGee asked.

"You can't fight a benzene fire. You can't put it out with water. All water does is spread it around. It burns too hot. Contaminates the ground table."

"What can you do about benzene? Let it burn?"

"Yes. Exhaust the fuel. All you can do is contain it, stop it from spreading."

Kate stared at the scene in front of her. The apartment was covered in black, dripping wet from top to bottom. The damage reminded her of the cafeteria of Columbine High School after the fire from the propane bombs was put out by the school sprinklers. The floor was wet. Drops of water dripped onto the floor. Each drop echoed like it was a cave. Remnants of smoke filled the air. She could hear the flashing of a camera coming from the back room. Kate closed her eyes in pain. She couldn't go back there. Remains of what had been a wide screen TV lay on the ground before her. Beneath the smoky stench, the air smelled faintly a plastic, likely from the melted, burnt, and crisped DVD cases that were in a heap throughout the apartment, having been knocked over. Kate sighed weakly to herself, her heart aching with a pain that matched any injury she'd had before. Her stomach churned in such a fashion she never thought it could.

"Looks like he picked the lock on the door," McGee said, photographing the door knob.

"So he waits for Tony to go to sleep," Kate said. "Then he carefully pours the fuel, cutting access to the back door. He leaves Tony only one wait to get out."

"The front door," Gibbs finished.

"If someone was trying to kill Tony, why did they leave the front door open?"

"He knew one of us get here very quickly," Ducky answered. "He wanted us to see him die."

Kate could hardly gather the courage to ask what she was about to ask. "Has, uh, Tony...have they...have they found his...body?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No. Not yet. Until we find...a body, Tony is not dead. Just missing."

"Perhaps our young Anthony is in a hospital," Ducky optimistically added. "Let's not assume the worst."

"Ducky, thanks for the optimism, but I saw Tony fall through the floor," Kate said. "I...I..."

Gibbs came to her. "Hey, Kate. It's gonna be okay. He's not dead. Remember what I told him when he was suffering from the plague?"

"That he would not die?"

"Uh huh. And after that?"

Kate looked up at Gibbs, realization kicking in. "He doesn't have permission to die."

Gibbs smiled a bit as he nodded. "He's a fighter. He won't die."

A fireman shifted through the burnt wreckage in the basement. He spotted an over turned refrigerator with a lot of fire scarring. He carefully turned it right side up. When it clanged back on the floor, the fireman noticed a mass laying where the refrigerator used to be. He knelt down and realized it was a man. His entire face was covered in soot, the left side a little burned. His shirt was burned, along with portions of his chest.

"Joe!" the firearm called.

"Yeah?" Joe replied, coming down the stairs.

"We've got a body down here," the first firearm said. The burned man's eyes opened. _Oh, my God. He's alive. _"Bring the paramedics!"

Kate could hear commotion down in the basement.

"What's going on?" Gibbs asked.

"They found a body," a fireman replied. "He's alive."

Kate's heart seemed to leap out of her chest at the word alive. As they pulled Tony out of the apartment on a stretcher, Kate's heart soared with relief. Tears of joy escaped her eyes, no longer sobs of grief. She turned to her superior.

"Gibbs, I gotta go him. I don't care what you say, I gotta be with him."

"Go," Gibbs simply said, nodding. Kate did not hesitate. She climbed into the ambulance they put Tony in.

HOSPITAL

"What do we got?" a doctor asked as Tony was brought into the hospital on a stretcher.

"Burn victim," a paramedic reported. "Superficial fire burns and abrasions. Pressure steady."

"He got a name?"

"Anthony DiNozzo. He's a NCIS agent."

"All right, my count on three," the doctor said, getting ready to put him on the proper stretcher. "One, two, three!"

They lifted him onto a hospital stretcher.

"Agent DiNozzo! Can you hear me?"

Tony could only hear someone from a long time ago.

_"Tony! Tony! Can you hear me, son?" a man with a mask asked him._

"G-C-S is less than eight. Let's intubate. Twenty milligrams of etomidate. A hundred of succinylcholine."

"Right away," a nurse said.

"Skip the X-ray. Go straight to Cat Scan."

Kate came along. "Tony, can you hear me? Tony, I'm here for you. Can you hear me?"

Tony's eyes fluttered open. Kate could see how red and cracked they were.

"Tony! It's me, Kate," she assured him, taking his hand. "I'm here for you."

_Wendy? _he thought.

"Ma'am, we need you to let go," a doctor told her as they arrived at the ICU.

Kate reluctantly let go of Tony's hand as he and the doctors passed through the doors. She covered her mouth in horror and fear as she prayed to God that Tony would make it. He was an ass, but he was tough as nails.


	9. Should Be Fine

**notice how Tony never talked out high school, just about college? Correct me if I'm wrong. The latest memory was based on the episode "Restless" and the torment I went through from 6th-12th grade. 7 miserable years, man.**

TONY'S APARTMENT

Ziva, McGee and Gibbs took photos of the scene as Kate stayed with Tony. They had also found another body, in the kitchen. They knew it wasn't Tony because they had just found him half alive. The entire place dripped with water, and the agents had to be careful because debris keep falling from the roof of the second floor.

"You're gonna have to come in here sooner or later, Timothy," Ducky said to McGee, who stood outside the apartment room. His knees were shaking.

"I already did."

"Uh-huh," Ducky said.

"Duck, I don't think I can go back in there."

"Timothy..."

"I know."

"Don't let Gibbs smell fear or else he'll just-"

"McGee!" Gibbs called. "I got a special job for you."

"Too late," Ziva whispered in Ducky's ear, who smiled.

"Arson investigators took point on the second body. Help Ducky tag it and bring it back to autopsy."

Reluctantly, McGee complied. "On it, boss."

"It's been a bad day," Ducky said with sympathy.

"Yes," Ziva agreed. "A very bad day. What's the point of origin?"

"It appears to be in the living room. The arsonist appears to pour the kerosene everywhere, including the kitchen, then set it off with some sort of ignition...Ah ha!"

Ducky used some tweezers to pick up a small burnt object. "The source of ignition, being a match. Huh...that's interesting."

"What is it, Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"This looks the kind of matches you can only light with your thumb. Don't see those kind of matches nowadays."

"The springs are all that's left of his couch," McGee said as he helped Ducky and Palmer. "He's gonna be pissed. He told me how much it loved that couch, and he kept some card signed by some celebrity in it. I can't remember who."

"Some of the fragments in the walls indicate explosives," Ziva said. "Abby should be able to trace the taggant."

"Why's the head and torso burnt to a crisp while he legs are perfectly fine?" Palmer asked.

"Probably because his legs were pinned down why trying to escape the fire," Ducky theorized.

"Any word from the hospital?" Gibbs asked.

"Our young Anthony's critical, but stable. His right leg is severely burned...He wasn't in here when the fire started, was he?"

"Kate said she saw him trying to come through the door before the floor collapsed," Gibbs said.

"How did he survive?"

"The refrigerator shielded him from most of the fire," Ziva said. She tried to smile as she noticed something outside. "It's raining."

"Could've used it a few hours ago," Gibbs grumbled as some thunder came in the background.

HOSPITAL

Kate and Abby followed the doctors wheeling Tony out of the O.R., asking how he was.

"He suffered a concussion when the refrigerator landed on him but there are no signs of intra-cerebral hemorrhaging."

"He's gonna be okay, though, right?"

"Uh, he should be fine."

"I don't wanna hear 'should be'!" Abby barked. "I wanna hear 'will be'!"

"Abby," Kate tried.

"'Should be is not positive!"

"Abby, please..." Kate said again.

Kate and Abby held each other as they watched the doctors take care of Tony. They placed him on a bed and wrapped him up in some damp, cool clothes to soothe his burned skin.

"I want to see what's under the hood," the doctor told a nurse. "Hold the sedation and call me when he wakes up."

The nurse nodded and the doctor went back out into the hallway. "I'm always positive, Ms. Scuito. But with a concussion, until...until he wakes, no one knows what's going on inside his brain."

Slowly nodding, Abby looked back at her good friend.

Tony's eyes shook as he remembered...

_1986_

_"Hey, Tony! What's up ya little queer?" one of the four jocks jeered on the bleachers, walking to approach Anthony DiNozzo and his at the time girlfriend Chelsie._

_"What the fuck are you doin' here, Tony?" another went on._

_"Just leave me alone, Alan," Tony said as he tried to walk across the football field to class._

_"Hey, fag. Hey, fag. Come on, man. I'm chill. Chill. Just wanna give you a high five."_

_Tony glared at Alan. "Leave...me...alone."_

_Alan pushed Tony's chest. "Get the fuck outta my face, bitch."_

_Two of them threw him to the ground. The fourth one held Chelsie back as they laughed at him._

_"OOHHH!" Alan jeered. "Goin' down! He's goin' down! He tripped! You okay?"_

_"No! Get away from me!"_

_"Woah, calm down!" Alan mocked as his friends pushed Tony down every time he tried to get up. "Chill out, all right?"_

_"Get the fuck off me!" Tony barked. "Get your fucking hands off me!"_

_"It's nothing like that, Tony," Alan said as his friends backed off. "It's nothing like that. We're just hanging out."_

_Tony managed to stand up, but a rock slammed into the side of his neck. He fell back to the ground._

_"Oooohh!"_

_They let go of Chelsie, who ran to Tony's side. But seconds later, she was yelling in pain as a rock hit her in the knee. The jocks laughed. While trying to get up, rage began to swell up in Tony's heart._

_"What? Are you crying?" a jock jeered at Chelsie. "Aw, don't be crying. This is what happens when...Stay the fuck down! You know what happens - Stay down! Don't cry."_

_Yelling like William Wallace, Tony charged at Alan. "You fucking assholes!"_

_"Fucking shit!" Alan yelled as he caught Tony and slammed him into the bleachers. "What?"_

_Tony barely avoided a huge fist in the face by rolling off the bleachers._

_"AAGGHH!" Alan screamed as his fist hit the bleachers. "FUCK!"_

_Alan grabbed Tony by the backpack and slung him onto the grass. Alan began to kick him._

_"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Tony tried to say._

_"What'd you fucking say?"_

_"I'm sorry!"_

_"Huh? What?"_

_"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"_

_"Sorry for what?" Alan said before spitting on him._

_One of the jocks pulled out his lighter. "We should fucking burn him."_

_"A little BBQ?" Alan joked._

_"WOULD YOU FUCKING LEAVE US ALONE!" Tony screamed._

_"There it is, bitch."_

_They raised Tony's shirt over his head and held him down. Alan lit the lighter and knelt down in front of Tony._

_Tony screamed at the top of his lungs as a searing hot pain hit his chest._

PRESENT

Nobody noticed because his cheek was burned, but a lone sad tear went down Tony's face.

**Review**.


	10. Awake and Alive

The silence in the room, excluding the beeping from the monitors, was inexplicably eerie. The hospital band on his wrist read 'Anthony DiNozzo', among other bits of information. He breathed in slowly, waking up from his unconscious state. He lifted his hand and touched the lower part of his cheek, feeling stubble there. He rubbed his jaw and turned to see Kate sitting next to his bed, reading a book. He took a deep breath and realized how hard it seemed to be.

"Wow, I expected to wake to Gibbs slapping me for getting burned," Tony said.

Kate looked up at him, shocked. She closed her book and smiled as she stood. She walked closer to him and rested a hand on the plastic railing on his hospital bed.

"You're awake," she said.

"Judging by the growth, I'd say I've been unconscious for two days," Tony said, referring to the stubble. "You've been sitting there the whole time?"

"No," Kate said, scoffing...almost too quickly.

"Judging by the oily buildup in your hair, I'd say you're lying."

"I was scared," Kate said. "Pardon me for caring."

"You've never gave a damn about me."

Kate looked at Tony with shock. "Tony, you annoy me, but that doesn't me I don't care. I'm not some psychopath."

"I guess you're right. If you were a real psychopath, you would've made good on your many threats of shooting me long ago."

Kate nodded. "Yeah."

"So, where are we at?"

"We're at Bethesda-"

"Not the hospital," Tony said, shaking his head. "The bastard. Ari."

"Tony, your apartment just got burned down, with you in it. You should rest."

"Kate, I've been kidnapped, shot at, poisoned with the plague, and nearly blown up. Being burned is just another thing to add to my 'whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger' list. Now, can we prove Ari was behind the fire?"

Kate sighed, knowing he wouldn't give up. Such a selfless martyr. "Not yet. Evidence is still being analyzed. But I gotta ask...Why fire? Why didn't he just shoot you or stab you?"

Tony pursed his lips together in thought. "I don't know...Maybe...Wait a minute. He wasn't trying to kill me..."

"What?" Kate asked in confusion.

"He wanted me to live."

"Not that I'm against that, but why?"

Tony sighed, then explained about how he rescued a boy from an arson fire, but couldn't save the boy's sister. The day inspired him to go into law enforcement.

"So by setting your apartment on fire..." Kate started.

"He delivers the ultimate insult," Tony finished. "By lighting my apartment up, he reminds me of the day I couldn't save that little girl. Not a day goes by where I don't think about her and her brother. Burning my place is just adding insult to injury."

"Oh, my God. Tony, I'm so sorry."

Tony sighed, holding back a tear_. Why has it come to this? It seems my life just keeps going from bad to worse. God, please help me._

He knew he shouldn't dwell on the negative, and decided to change the mood.

"Kate, you got a quarter?" he asked.

"What?"

"Give me a quarter," Tony repeated. "Trust me. I'll make you feel better."

Kate gave him a quarter. Tony took the quarter in his left hand, taking Kate's hand in his right. She fought the flushing of her cheeks as his strong, firm hand held her soft and delicate one. He showed her the George Washington side. Tony's face turned serious.

"He lives," he said. He turned the quarter to show her the eagle. "He dies."

"Mmm, now we're taking," Kate chuckled, which got a smile from the playboy. Tony flipped the coin. He opened his hand to show the quarter, eagle side up.

"He dies."

They both smiled and laughed.


	11. The Nightmares Begin

_"Shooter!"_

_Tony and Gibbs turned to watch as Kate jumped in front of Gibbs as gunman fired from his position from behind the door, hitting her in the chest. Gibbs fired off some rounds at the concealed shooter as he advanced towards his location._

_Tony instantly rushed to Kate's side and rolled her over, Gibbs dropped down on his other side and undid her jacket, both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the golden bronze bullet embedded in the vest she was wearing. Kate groaned and opened her eyes._

_"You okay?" he asked._

_"I just got shot at point blank range DiNozzo, what do you think?" she replied, her tone the same as the rest of their witty banter._

_"You wont be going to palates class tomorrow?" Tony stated with a soft sniff and smile. Kate was helped to her feet by both men._

_"Protection details over Kate," Gibbs said._

_Kate groaned, too much movement to soon for someone who had just been shot._

_"You did good," Tony stated._

_"For once," Gibbs started as he started to undo Kate's vest, smiling. "DiNozzo's right."_

_Kate had to laugh, she just had to. This day really had been full of surprises. _

_"Wow," she laughed. "I thought I'd die before I ever hear that."_

_Suddenly something wet and warm splashed across her left cheek, then a few seconds later she heard the distance yet distinctive sound of a rifle being fired._

_Then she heard somebody falling hard to the floor. She knew that the warm liquid on her face wasn't spit or water, it was blood. Tony's blood. She turned and her legs shook as she saw his lifeless body laying the roof. Everything slowed down, Gibbs turned raised his SIG at the roof in the distance._

_"Ari," he whispered._

_All Kate could do was shake, from the tips of her toes to the longest strand of hair on her head, she shook, at first it was fear, fear that that bullet nearly hit her, that she nearly died, then she shook because she was crying._

_Blood pooled from the back of his head and as a single tear trickled from his right, cold lifeless eye. Kate fell to her knees, her shaking hands covering her mouth, trying to prevent the scream she knew that was coming._

_Upon seeing the lifeless body of her partner, Caitlin Todd let out the loudest scream she had ever had. The scream was wild, filled with sorrow and a lust of vengeance. Blood drunk. Her cries of pain and rage at the loss of Tony was more frightening than the deepest battle drums. The day was theirs. Terror had been defeated, but no drinks of celebration would be had._

His name escaped her lips in a gasp as she sat up in her bed. She looked around and realized she was in her apartment. Her body was covered with sweat and her pulse was racing. Her breathing was rapid, desperate for air. She leaned back, closing her eyes and tried to fell back asleep, but she couldn't. Tony's 'death' was just a bad dream. She rubbed her eyes, frustrated. She had scary dreams before, but this was a nightmare. Her first nightmare.

After an hour of failing to sleep, Kate got herself out of bed, groaning. She walked over to the bathroom. She turned the faucet on and splashed her face with water. She looked up to look at herself in the mirror. Her face was pale white. She was shaking.

Was the nightmare just what it was? Or a premonition? Kate prayed to God that it was just a nightmare. A really messed up nightmare, but not real none the less.

Then she emptied the contents of her stomach into the sink. The horror of imagining Tony die had taken a bigger toll on her than she thought. How could even have a dream like that? Tony might annoy the hell out of her, especially when he went through her things, she would never wish for him to die. She may have threatened to shoot him, but she never meant it. That was angry responses to his nosiness.

After cleaning herself up, and washing the taste of vomit out of her mouth, she picked up her cell phone.

_"DiNozzo,"_ someone answered.

"Tony?"

_"Hey, Kate, what's up?"_

"I just...wanted to make sure you're all right."

_"Ah, and here I was thinking you didn't care."_

"Tony, you're annoying as hell but I do care about you. You're my co-worker...and my friend."

_"Aw, I'm gettin' all misty eyed."_

"Don't be an ass," Kate chuckled, smiling.

_"What's the matter? What's troubling you?"_

"What?"

_"Something's bothering you."_

"What makes you think that?"

_"You can't hide your feelings from me, no matter how deeply you bury them."_

"I just...had a rough night. I had a dream."

_"Oh?"_

"It was about you."

_"Bad?"_

"In the dream, Ari shot you when we were on the roof top with a sniper rifle. You died. Blood coming outta the back of your head. I vomited after I woke up. How could I ever have such a dream? You can be an ass sometimes, but I could never wish you dead."

_"Oh. Kate, it was just a dream."_

"I can't let it become real."

_"Kate, none of us died while we were there."_

"I can't help it. I mean I can't let any of you die."

_"Kate, I'm fine. I don't plan on dying soon. In fact, the doctors are releasing me at noon tomorrow. Granted I might need a hell of a lot of Vicodin, but I still get to go h-"_

"Tony?" Kate said, worried that his health was going bad.

_"I just forgot. I don't have a home. Ari burned it."_

"Oh, right. Do you have any relatives to stay with?"

_"My father doesn't live in DC. My mother is dead. No brothers or sisters. So...no. No relatives that live in DC."_

"I'm sorry about that."

_"Thanks. I'll just find another apartment."_

"Good. That's good. I'll talk to you later, Tony. Keep in touch."

_"You too. Take care now. Bye."_

"Bye."

Kate tossed her phone across the bed. She leaned forward, burying her face in her hands. She was living in hell. First she and Abby nearly get shot, Tony nearly dies after his apartment is set on fire and now a horrible nightmare.

"This is not a good week," Kate said as she got ready for work.


	12. Release

As Tony dressed himself, he thought about Kate's nightmare. That was strange. Ari had almost killed one of them that day. Over at his sniper position, they found a shell casing that suggested that Ari's rifle had jammed. Tony let out a sigh of relief at that thought. He hated it when his gun jammed, but he was glad that Ari's did.

After signing the release papers, Tony waited for Kate to pick him up. She'd drive him to his car, which had been taken to NCIS after the fire. He'd have to stay with McGee. Tony smiled at that thought, imaging McGee groaning as Gibbs told him the news. But Tony decided to lay off him...at least for now. The recent set of events had put the team on edge.

Kate pulled up at about seven in the evening. The sun was barely in view, hiding behind the trees. Tony climbed in the passengers seat.

"All set?" Kate asked as he shut the door.

"Yep," Tony said as he strapped in. They drove off. No words were spoken the entire ride over to McGee's apartment. Tony whistled a Civil War tune, but that was the only sound in the car. Kate remembered her father singing that tone, the "Battle Cry of Freedom", sung by Confederate soldiers during the war. When Kate parked in front of McGee's apartment, the silence was broken.

"Tony-"

"Kate-"

"Um, you go first," Tony said.

"You go," Kate replied.

"I insist."

Biting her lip, Kate took a deep breath. This was hard to do. "I just wanted to apologize for being so paranoid yesterday morning. It was silly of me to worry."

"Kate, it's not silly to be worried," Tony said, his voice taking a serious tone. He turned to looked straight ahead, even though it was pitch black outside. "It's understandable. It's been really rough lately. In situations like this, it's hard not to be worried. Worrying at times like these is what reminds us that we're all human. We're not invincible or immortal. Having your first nightmare may be frightening, but it only means your human. We all are."

Thankfully Tony wasn't looking at her, because Kate blinked at his words. Never had he said something so deep.

"What were you gonna say?" Kate said after a moment of pause.

"Oh, uh," Tony said as he looked back at her. "I just wanted to say thanks for driving me over here."

"You're welcome. No problem."

Another moment of silence occurred, this one more intense. They both stared at each other, Tony's dark green eyes gazing in her hazel ones. With the way the moon light was hitting Kate, her eyes glistened. They both started to close the distance between each other.

Kate's heart was racing wildly in her chest. It was then that she realized just how much she wanted it…wanted him. This was really happening. For the last two years, she never thought about ever doing it, but here it was about to happen. She was going kiss him. Kiss Anthony DiNozzo.

Their lips were a couple inches apart...when a cell phone rang.

Tony realized how close he was to Kate and pulled back fast, fumbling for his cell phone. "DiNozzo...Yes, McGee, I'm here. Yeah, I'm coming."

He hung up and turned back to Kate. "So, um, I'll see you soon."

"Okay."

Tony reached over and squeezed her hand. Kate didn't resist, but she hoped he couldn't see her cheeks as they flared as red as roses. Tony departed the car and strode towards the apartment. He glanced back as Kate drove away quickly.

Kate cursed herself as she continued to feel herself blush red. That moment, the intenseness of their conversation, and the fact that their lips nearly connected, confirmed her suspicions about herself. She was in love with Anthony DiNozzo.

Kate squeezed the steering wheel tightly. Her mind was racing. She didn't know what to do. He was her co-worker. Gibbs would kill them if they violated his Rule #12: Never date a co-worker. But she couldn't deny the feelings she was started to have for Tony.

"Damn it," she whispered. "Damn it, damn it, damn it."


	13. Rage and Revenge

**Updated to show Gibbs as a sniper.**

_"I love..." Tony started to say, then went very still in Kate's arms, and she saw the light leave his eyes._

_Kate could harely draw her breath. Wide-eyed with disbelief, she lifted Tony to her breast and held him there for several seconds, sobbing. He couldn't be gone! He just couldn't! She pulled him back again, staring into his dark green eyes, silently pleading for him to answer her. But there was no light in his eyes, no flicker of life. She hugged him close, rocking him. Then she laid him down on her knee and gently closed his eyes._

_Kate didn't know what to do. She sat on the rooftop motionless. Then she started to tremble, her lip started to quiver, as she stared at her dead partner. The love of her life. Her true love. Dead in her arms._

_Lightly shaking, Kate looked up as Gibbs approached her. Gibbs actually took a step back when he looked into her eyes. The former Marine sniper practically ate bowls of nails for breakfast, without any milk, and wasn't scared of anything anymore, but even he was disturbed by what he saw. Kate's dark brown eyes were blazing with hatred and rage. Eyes of Fire. Never had he seen Kate so enraged. He was furious at this, but he could actually _feel_ the rage boiling within Kate._

_A minute slipped past and Kate just sat there, immobilized by her confusion, by a budding rage and the most profound sense of emptiness she had ever known. Only when the sirens of cop cars began to sound in her ears did she even remember where she was._

_She looked about, looking for the son of a bitch who took her life away. She could hardly moved, though. There seemed a profound pointlessness to it all, a series of motions without meaning. __Right then, the only meaning, the only purpose, that Kate could fathom was that of the rage building within her, an anger at losing someone she did not wish to give up._

_Some small part of her warned her not to give into that anger, warned her that such emotions were from Satan. __Then she looked at Tony lying there, so still, seeming at peace but covered with blood coming from the hole in his neck._

_Kate gently laid Tony down, as if she was afraid to awaken him from a deep sleep. The NCIS agent climbed to her feet and let out the loudest scream of pain and anger she had ever unleashed. Gibbs tried to pull her into his arms, to sooth her, calm her. But Kate slammed Gibbs' face with her Glock 19._

_The rage was not sated..._

Again, Kate woke up gasping his name. She was relieved to find out it wasn't real. But the nightmares were driving her insane. First, she dreams Tony getting murdered, then she has another one like that and she goes into a murderous rage. Maybe she needed to see a counsellor. Waste of money and time, but it might actually do her some good. She held her mouth as went to the bathroom sink to through up again.

Kate really hoped this would end soon. They had gotten enough evidence to prove Ari was responsible for everything. Now the problem they had to solve was finding him.

"God, please helped us catch this bastard," Kate prayed.

"Now that doesn't sound like something you should be saying to God, does it Caitlin?" a deep voice said.

Kate spun around and reached for her hip, only to realize she left the gun under her pillow. That gun was now in the hands of the one and only Ari Haswari.

"A bit sacrilegious, no?" he asked. He looked at the gun in his hand. "Oh, I'm sorry. Where you looking for this?"

"How did you get in here?" Kate snarled.

"Caitlin, Caitlin," Ari tsked. "I'm surprised at you. If I can break into a heavily protected federal building without being detected till the last minute, surely I can break into a simple apartment."

Kate glared at him as she stepped back into her bedroom.

"I want you to know that I didn't want to burn Mr. DiNozzo."

"Then why did you?" she said as she stopped at the end of the bed, right across from him.

"To cause Gibbs pain," he answered casually as he sat down in a chair.

Kate raised his eyebrow. "What did he do to piss you off?"

"Not him...My father. Gibbs has the misfortune of reminding me of the bastard."

"Wasn't there to teach how to play baseball? Or teach you how to seduce women like me?"

Ari smiled with a chuckle.

"Didn't marry your mother either?" Kate continued.

"That's what makes me a bastard, not him...From the moment of my birth, he groomed me to be one thing...his mole in Hamas. Sent me to Edinburgh to become a doctor, so that I could work in the Gaza camps alongside my mother. When he had her killed, I had no trouble joining the Iz Adin al-Kassam."

"You don't really believe your father had your mother killed, do you?"

"It was a 'retalitory Israeli strike'," Ari scoffed. "On the day I was in Tel Aviv, visiting him. After decades of planning, he had his mole in Hamas. He never knew how much I hated him. I wish I could see his face when he realizes that he created not a mole...but a monster. Eager to strike at the heart of Mossad and Israel."

"Yeah, I almost feel sorry for you," Kate said.

"And I for you," Ari said. "But you don't feel sorry for me, do you?"

"Not in a million years."

Ari smiled as he stood back up, walking around the bed. Kate positioned herself where her back faced the door. An eire moment of silence passed as they just stared at each other.

"When Ziva told me you were going to Agent McGee's apartment to offer Mr. DiNozzo to stay at your apartment to relieve Agent McGee of him, I couldn't believe it. Such a romantic gesture."

Kate chuckled, for the first time in her life being able to suppress the flushing of her cheeks. "What? Are you serious?"

"Almost to good to pass up..." Ari said, then he smirked. "Almost."

"Why did you?"

"I need Gibbs to committ suicide with his own rifle. You never did give me enough credit in our game, my dear Caitlin. I knew it was a trap before Ziva told me Gibbs asked her to cover you. None of you would ever trust Ziva...And you need to kill me, to taste the sweetness of revenge."

Kate's body stiffed as Ari raised the gun enough to point at her chest. Suddenly, she saw a flashing light out the window.

"I want you to know, my father being who he is simply turned me into a sociopath. But Gibbs reminding me of him has reduced me to a gesture of repressed rage."

Kate simply walked around Ari to sit in the chair. "I've seen enough men die in my life, Haswari. It's gonna be just as sweet watching you die. I'll be here on Earth while you're going to burn in Hell for all eternity."

Extending his arm to full length, aiming at Kate's head, Ari smiled. "Sorry to spoil your fun, dear Caitlin, but-"

Suddenly, glass shattered.

MINUTES EARLIER...

_Kate's gonna kill me for this, if it's worth it if it means taking out this bastard once and for all,_ Gibbs thought as he got into position. He didn't like keeping his agents in the dark, but this time he felt it was necessary. He also knew Tony would definitely chew him out. He had noticed how close those two had gotten since the incident at the rooftop.

On the rooftops about 250 feet from Kate's apartment, Gibbs got on his stomach. He set up the bipod on his M40A1 sniper rifle. Marine sniper rifle.

"Good to see you again, my friend," Gibbs whispered to the rifle. He sighted Kate in his scope. She was facing the window, with her back to the front door and was talking to someone. Ari was in there. If it wasn't him, then he'd feel like a complete idiot. He could tell that Kate saw him. She slightly nodded and started moving out of the line of fire. "That's it, Kate. Keep going," he said.

Ari came into view, holding a Glock pistol. As Gibbs lined up for a clear shot, his Marine training kicked in. He considered the velocity of the bullet's trajectory, the wind, the distance. Everything that snipers had to know before taking the shot. Velocity was 2,550 feet per second. The bolt-action rifle fired 7.62×51mm NATO bullets in a 5-round integral box magazine and weighed sixteen pounds. Maximum range was 1,000 yards. The scope was a Premier Reticles Heritage 3-15×50mm Tactical. There was wind, but not enough to affect the shot. It would be a good shot.

In the scope, Gibbs could see Ari raising his gun, giving him probable cause to shoot. Gibbs lined up the sight just an inch from Ari's ear. Taking a deep breath, he squeezed the trigger.

KATE'S APARTMENT

Glass shattered and something wet and warm splashed across Kate's left cheek, then a few seconds later she heard the distance yet distinctive sound of a rifle being fired. Then she heard somebody falling hard to the floor. Then McGee and Ziva burst in, guns drawn.

"Kate, you all right?" McGee asked.

"Yeah. Next time we do something like this, we're swapping places," Kate groaned.

"Why?" McGee asked as he checked for Ari's pulse. Nothing.

"Because this is my only night gown, and now's there's blood all over it. And I'm going to kill him for not letting me know about this."

"Gibbs said it was better if you didn't know," McGee explained. "Said that if you knew, you would do something that would've alerted him."

Kate scoffed. Ziva just stared the body of her half-brother. They have had different mothers and he was a monster, but he was still her brother. She watched as a pool of blood formed around his head.

_"His father is the Deputy Director of Mossad?"_ Gibbs sounded in her earpiece.

"Yes," Ziva could barely say. "He is my half-brother."

McGee and Kate respectfully left Ziva to grieve as she softly sang in Hebrew over his body.

**Review plz.**


	14. Family Reunion

**Little bit based on Jeff Foxworthy special in Canada. Everyone has rednecks in their family. Even Yankees.**

A week after Ari was taken out, Tony's family took him out to dinner, to be there for him and to appreciate the time they had. They couldn't when Tony's apartment was burned down because NCIS didn't want to risk their lives while a terrorist was targeting Tony and other NCIS agents. They were at Hooters, and for once it wasn't Tony's idea. It was his uncle Marco's idea. Tony chuckled at himself. Even he had rednecks in his family. Tony was looking at the menu, and the occasional waitress, when he noticed a gray haired man approach.

"Junior!" the man called out.

"Dad?" Tony said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Junior, you nearly die and you didn't expect me to be here with you?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "I nearly died from the plague and you didn't see me. Where were you then?"

His father lowered his head, ashamed. "Yes, I made a terrible mistake not seeing you. I have no excuse. That will not happen again...I promise."

After a moment, Tony smiled and hugged his father. "It's great to see you, Dad."

"It's good to see you too, Junior," Senior said as they parted.

"Stop calling me that, _please,_" Tony groaned, feeling like Indiana Jones in _The Last Crusade_. He motioned to a chair across from him. They took their seats as a waitress came up to the table. She was _qualified_ to work there. In fact, Tony was pretty sure she may have been on a scholarship.

"Woo-woo!" Marco hooted. "Where'd you get them things girl?"

Tony slapped his face, thinking she'd get mad. The woman was as cool as ever. She simply looked at her chest then back at Marco.

"I bought 'em," she said with a smile.

"You know, I've been thinking about buying me some," Marco's wife Maria said.

"You are 62 years old!" Marco rebuked. "You getting a boob job would be like hanging a new chandiller in a haunted house."

"Well I figured if I put some new lights in the house, you might stay in it longer than two minutes," Maria replied. Tony, his father and the rest of the family busted out laughing. Even the waitress chuckled.

After the family ordered, Senior turned to Tony. "So how have you been?"

"Well, other than nearly dying of the plague, nearly getting blown up by a car bomb, and having my house burned down, pretty good," Tony said.

Senior puckered his lip. "Very funny."

"I know," Tony said as he sipped some Dr. Pepper, the best drink in the universe besides Irish Whiskey. "I'm doing good now."

"Anyone _special _in your life?"

Tony hesitated before he could speak. Was Kate what could be considered special? As far as he knew, he didn't have a shot with her. He hated to admit Ari was right, but he was. He did have feelings for Kate. Tony took a breath.

"Technically."

"Technically?" Senior said after taking a sip of wine.

"She's a coworker," Tony said. "I really like her. I do. But I'm constantly pissing her off. Plus, my boss has a rule against dating co-workers."

"Really..."

"Yeah. And you know that dating co-worker can't be described without the word 'cluster' in it."

Senior nodded. "Aye. That be true."

"What's her name?"

"Kate," Tony said. "Caitlin Todd. She's brunette. Brown eyes. My age. Very beautiful."

"Reminds me of your mother," Senior said with a grin.

Tony chuckled. "Yeah...She's also smart, cunning, witty. Always has a snappy comeback. Her sense of humor could use some work though."

"Oh?"

"She tends to be puritanical at times," Tony said. "Sometimes it seems like she _doesn't _have a sense of humor. I pulled a harmless prank on our Probie, or newbie, named McGee and called me 'such a child'."

"What happened?"

"McGee likes our technical analyst named Abby, who is Goth and into alien thing. We had this case where a Marine Corps helicopter was found abandoned in a crop circles. You know those alien kind of circles."

Senior nodded.

"So anyway, Abby is telling McGee to look for anything alien and stuff...And I decided to have a little fun with him. I hid an alien mask with a magnet under it. McGee was shocked till he found the magnet. I did the Spoc sign when he looked at me. And she called me a child."

"Well, Tony, that was a little childish thing for a grown man to do."

"I guess."

They're food finally came to the table. Senior got a filet mignon, while Tony got a T-bone steak with ribs covered in delicious barbecue sauce. After a brief silence, Senior looked at Tony.

"Son, I know I'm far from having the right to own a 'Best Dad Ever' coffee cup," he said. "But I want to make it up to you. I hope you can forgive me for screwing up our relationship."

Tony looked up. "Dad, I already have forgiven you. I just like giving you a hard time about it."

Senior chuckled as he took a bite. "Duly noted...I love you, son."

"I love you too, Dad."

**Review.**


	15. I'm Back

As Tony rode the elevator up to the squad room, he couldn't help but think how glad he was to get back to work. As like everyone else in the world, he wished he could just sit in his apartment watching TV with some lovely company. But recent events had made him realization that life was short. You don't have forever. He needed to be with his friends and co-workers. And Kate. Especially Kate.

_God, I can't believe we nearly lost each other,_ he thought. _God, I hope this works. Fox Three._

Tony blinked at that moment. Why did think of that quote from _Air Force One_? Ah, well.

He took two doctor-prescribed Vicodin pills just as the elevator doors opened. His wounds and scars had disappeared and after two more weeks of paid leave, and his pain had started to fade. But his pain from the plague and the fire was still there, especially in his right leg and his lungs. Sometimes it felt like he was being stabbed in the chest. He'd wake up with excruciating pain his chest. His leg was swore, causing a limp a few times.

But he had to be careful, because Vicodin made him loopy in college.

"Morning, Kate, Probie," he said with a smile. "Where's Gibbs?"

"Down with Abby," Kate answered. "Are you feeling okay? You still got another week of medical leave."

"Ah, I already had leave after the plague. I just need to get back to work. Besides, who else is gonna save your butts from car bombs?"

"You wouldn't have noticed if Kate hadn't kicked you to the ground, Tony," McGee said.

"True, but are you saying I didn't save your lives?" Tony mocked as he approached the man's desk. "I didn't stop you from completely turning that key, thereby detonating the bomb under the car? Huh?"

McGee didn't respond.

"That's what I thought," Tony said with his famous grin.

"Gear up."

CRIME SCENE

A Marine was dead at a naval base. His gut was slashed open, probably bled out.

"I won't know until the autopsy," Ducky said, "but it looks like our Marine was killed with a sword."

"A sword?" Gibbs said. "What kind, Duck?"

"Judging by the depth of the wound, I'm guessing a two-handed sword. Like the Claymore."

"Didn't your old country's William Wallace use one?" McGee asked.

"Why yes, Timothy," Ducky answered, smiling at him. "Very good."

"I...studied history in high school," McGee explained.

"That's a good lad," Ducky chuckled.

After taking some pictures, Tony approached Kate. "Hey, uh, Kate, can I talk to you for a second?"

"What about?" she asked.

Tony nodded to the crime scene tape. She followed him over there, lifting the tape up and walking over to a tree.

"What is it?"

"Look, it is obvious that _something_ is going on between us," Tony explained. "I don't know what or I'm not sure what, but something."

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked, though she had an idea he was talking about.

"That night the car. Where we almost..."

"Ah, yeah..."

"So, I was wondering what are we going to do," Tony said. "And basically...I have no clue."

"Tony, it's obviously that there are some..._feelings_...between us. And-"

Kate stopped when she noticed how Tony's face seemed to brighten. She had seen him brighten, but this was different. His face was not of relief, like when he got out of that sexual harassment seminar or when he was out of trouble. He was actually..._happy._ Thrilled by the prospect that she had some feelings for him.

Tony took her hand, absent mindedly stroking her fingers. "We're gonna figure this out. Okay?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah. I know."

"Hey!" Gibbs yelled. "You two done playing gossip?"

"Getting back to work, boss!" Tony called.

**Sorry i've been gone so long. Nephew born, lost my dog (had him since 1999-2013) and my granpda died (1937-New Year's Eve, 2013). Review.**


	16. 2009

**To all McAbby fans, I'm not a real McAbby fan. By that I mean I don't care. Nothing against it, but it's just not interesting to me. So I'm not really gonna put that in here. Use your imagination if you want.**

June 23, 2009

The team was investigating a neo-Nazi targeting Jewish servicemen of the US Navy and Marine Corps.

So far, three Marines and two Petty Officers had been killed, with one Marine sergeant barely surviving. The marine was at Norfolk hospital with deep stabbing wounds, which was a deviation from his M.O. The killer had shot his previous victims, then carved a swastika on the victim's chest. Ducky theorized that either the killer had run out of ammunition and had a criminal record so he couldn't get more, or he was devolving.

Tony and Kate were interviewing First Sergeant Drew Williams in his hospital room.

"He came at me with a knife, screaming like a madman. Cutting and slashing and occasionally kicking me."

"He didn't have a gun?" Tony asked, writing the information down on a pad.

"No. Not that I could see."

"Was he screaming something specific or was it just screaming?" Kate asked.

"Just screaming," Williams answered. "Well, most of it."

"Most of it?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When he stopped attacking me, thinking I was dead, he clicked his feet together and said '_Alle begrüßen das Dritte Reich_'."

Tony pulled out his phone and went to translate google. "'All hail the third Reich'."

"I figured he was a Nazi, saying 'Reich' and all. Plus the Nazi salute. Oh, he had a swastika tattoo on his left hand, like my Irish friend has a shamrock on his."

Tony nodded, pulling out his card. "Thank you for your time, Sergeant. If you remember anything else, call us."

"Yes, sir."

The agents left the room as Tony called Gibbs.

"Gibbs, First Sergeant Drew Williams gave us the story. Sliced and diced, including the swastika on the chest. Then he did a Nazi salute and said 'All hail the Third Reich' in German. M.O. is different though. Stabbed instead of shot. Also has a swastika on his left hand."

_"All right. Keep me informed."_

"Yep," Tony said as he hung up. "This is one sick bastard."

"You can say that again," Kate agreed as she put up her note pad.

"This is one sick bastard," Tony repeated. He smirked as Kate lightly slapped his arm. They started walking to the elevator, heading back to base.

The elevator door opened. No one was inside, but leaning against the wall was a suitcase. A Samsonite suitcase. A faint sound that Tony would normally pass for some electrical machine whirring sent a deadly chill down Tony's spine. That was no ordinary suitcase.

"BOMB!"

Kate could hardly react before Tony tackled her to the floor, over to the side. The suitcase ripped itself apart, exploding into a ball of flame, shaking the walls and the very air. The shock wave sent the NCIS agents crashing further down the hall. Dust swirled thick and heavy in the air. The elevator itself fell to the basement, ending its descent with a loud slam.

As Tony and Kate came up for breath, they could hear people screaming and coughing.

"Come on, Kate," Tony said, helping her up. "We need to get outta here."

Just as soon as they got up, another bomb erupted. This one was near Williams' room. The hospital shook even more. More smoke filled the air.

"Kate, are you okay?" Tony asked as he dusted himself and called 911.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kate said. "You?"

"A little winded, but I'm good."

"Oh my God,Williams."

They ran to his room, which now looked like a war zone. Williams' IV and the other machines were in pieces. The walls and ceiling was blackened and covered in soot, with metal shards sticking out. Kate ran over to Williams. His throat was slashed by shrapnel.

"Come on, Drew!" Kate screamed, shaking Williams' shoulder. "Come on Marine!"

"Leave him! He's dead!" Tony screamed, pulling her away. "He's dead!"

Suddenly, another explosion rocked the hospital. This one came from the roof, ripping into the room. The ceiling crumbled and fell on Tony, who instantly covered Kate with his body. Tony screamed as debris slammed into his back and legs. Despite this, they able to toss the debris aside and stand up.

"As I said, we get outta here!" Tony repeated. They made their way to the stairs when a voice cried out.

"Help me!"

Tony and Kate ran to where the second bomb had detonated. There was a man pinned down by debris, from the chest down.

"Kate," Tony said as he came to the man's side. "On three. One...two...three!"

Groaning, Tony and Kate lifted the heavy debris off of the man. Tony took his arm across his shoulder and they walked out of the hospital.

Once outside, Tony and Kate were inspected by the paramedics. Tony's head was throbbing, his back felt burned and there was a loud ringing in his ear. Kate had a splitting headache and very mild ringing in her left ear but she was basically okay.

Gibbs, McGee and Ducky pulled up.

"Good Lord, are you two okay?" Ducky gasped, starting to inspect Tony. "Anthony, can you hear me?"

Tony shook his head. He could lip read Ducky saying _Are you hearing any ringing in your ear?_

"Yeah," Tony said a little loudly. "A lot of ringing."

"Ah, tinnitus," Ducky told Gibbs, just before Tony gagged a little bit.

"It's temporary, as is the nausea. The most common occurrences when one is hit by the punishing force of a blast wave."

"Or in this case, three," Gibbs added.

"Gawd, it feels like I'm gonna throw up," Tony groaned loudly.

"Tony, if you throw up on me, I'm going to kill you," Kate said. She regretted it the second it escaped her lips. Too soon given the situation.

"What?!"

"We need to get you to the hospital, Tony," Kate said.

"What about the other guy?"

"He's fine. Just a fracture or something. We need to get _you_ to the hospital."

Tony, having lip read her, nodded. He tried to put his Ermenegildo Zegna suit, but he discovered it was torn and shred beyond repair. It looked like someone had put his suit in a cheese grazer.

"Aw, man!" Tony groaned. "That was my best suit!"

"Tony, before you go," Gibbs said, "What tipped you off that there was a bomb?"

"What?!"

"How did you know there was a bomb!"

"We, uh, we-we were entering the elevator and there was a Samsonite suitcase. The Samsonite has been used in a couple of airliner bombings like Air India 182 and Pan Am 103. Just a suitcase. No one else. And I heard some beeping or something. So I wasn't gonna pick it up or inspect it."

"Okay, go to the hospital. We'll take it from here."

"On it boss..."

When Gibbs left, Tony turned to Kate as she walked him to the ambulance. "What did he say?"

Kate couldn't help but laugh.

**Review please. Sorry for the delay, just got a job. My very first job and I'm 20 years old. *sigh* So sad.**


	17. Feelings Realized

NORFOLK HOSPITAL

"I think my hearing's coming back," Tony said, using his inside voice. "There's still ringing and a little muffled but I can hear better now."

"That's good, Tony," Kate said, nodding with relief. "How are you feeling, other than your hearing?"

"My head is less throbbing, my back is not feeling burned and my legs are sore. But other than that, I'm good. Man..."

"What?"

"I'm always getting hurt," Tony said, shaking his head. "Kidnapped, poisoned, shot at and now blown up twice. I've had my car stolen and totalled. My next one was blown up. To get to an international arms dealer, I dated his daughter; having to hide who I am and lying to her, only to break her heart when I actually reveal myself. I almost fell to my death once, but McGee saved me, thank you Jesus. I seem to be a target for danger."

Kate didn't have a response to that except to nod.

"Tony..."

"Yeah?"

"Despite..." Kate said. She took a deep breath. "Despite how childish you can be, which you have to admit that you are, you are my friend. I care about you."

Tony smiled. "Thanks Kate. You're my friend and I care about you too." He held out his arms. Kate smiled as she hugged him. Despite the smoke and soot smell, she liked the cologne he put on.

"And one more thing," Kate said just before she popped him in the head with a paperback Bible.

"D'oh!" Tony cried out, rubbing his head. "What was that for?!"

"For constantly getting your ass hurt, with me in vicinity."

As the pain faded, Tony chuckled. "Aw, I can't stay mad at you. But do you consider that maybe you're the one putting me in danger? Maybe you're afflicted with some sort of curse. Eh?"

"Don't make me smack you again."

They both chuckled as McGee came in.

"Hey, Tony, how are you doing?"

"What?!" Tony yelled. This chance to screw with McGee was too perfect to pass up."I'm sorry. I can't..."

"I said how are you doing!"

"How many guys are you doing?" Tony said a little quieter. "I don't know. I didn't know you went that way, Probie."

"No! Tony, I-"

"Tony!" Kate laughed.

Tony busted out laughing. "Relax, McGee. I'm just messing with ya. My hearing's still screwed up, but it's much better."

"Tony, are you ever going to grow up?" McGee groaned.

Kate chuckled. "McGee, until Tony's like in his 50s, he's always going to be a little high school boy in a grown man's body."

Tony pointed, smiled and winked at Kate. "There you go! But seriously, it's good to see you."

McGee nodded, shaking his hand. "Yeah, it's good to see you okay."

"Yeah. You too..." A silence entered the room before Tony continued. "Whoever this guy is, he will not give up."

"This is a huge deviation from his M.O.," McGee agreed.

"First guns, then knives, now bombs," Tony said. "This is one sick puppy. Wait, can we reconstruct the bombs? Put them back together like a jigsaw puzzle? He probably has a signature."

"Bomb squad's securing the hospital and picking up the pieces," Kate said, then snhoke her head. "God, Tony. You just got blown up and you're already back to work."

"You were there, too."

"Tony's got a point," McGee agreed.

"I got a splitting headache. I didn't get burned or ringing in my eyes...But it's your choice."

"Tony!" Abby yelped came in and crushed him in a bear hug.

"Hey, Abby," Tony groaned. "Sorry, Abs, but I'm still a little sore."

"Sorry," she said as she let go. "Are you okay?"

"As good as I'll ever be."

"You better not lying like you did after the plague."

"My head hurts, my neck is throbbing, my hearing is still screwed up a bit, but I'm good."

"This bastard is gonna pay for this," Abby said with venom.

"Calm down, Mrs. Rambo," Tony said with a smile. "We'll get him. But I want him alive. I wanna know what could possibly motivate him to do this. Well, you know, other than bigotry. I mean...why target the military? And he's only targeting the Navy and Marines. Why them? If I was targeting the military, I'd take on all the branches. Not that I would."

"Yeah, you'd run their underwear up a pole," Kate said.

"Well, I'm just glad you're okay," Abby said as she _lightly_ hugged him. Smiling, Tony returned the hug.

"Thanks, Abs. It's good to see you too.

"Mr. DiNozzo," a doctor called out as he came in with a clipboard. "Just sign this and you're free to go. But you'll need to come back in two days just to make sure you're okay."

"Thanks Doc," Tony said as he signed the paper. Tony groaned as his sore legs protested him getting off the bed to put on his new leather jacket. Kate got it for him for Christmas last year. He didn't know what she wanted so he gave her a $500 gift card. _She'll probably spent it on clothes or whatever women buy,_ he had thought. He grinned inside as he remembered the warm smile she gave him on that warm Christmas party at NCIS. He loved the hot cocco Ducky made, an old family recipe from Scotland.

McGee and Abby left to warm up the car, leaving Kate and Tony to themselves.

"Hey, Tony..."

"Aye?"

"Th..." Kate cleared her throat. "Thanks for saving me back there."

"Hey, what are friends for? Besides, you're my partner."

"Tony, we've been saving each other's asses so many times ever since we met. It's a wonder why one or both of us isn't dead."

"No, it's not," Tony denied.

Kate raised her eyebrow, waiting for an explaination.

"We make a great team," Tony said with a smile. "All six of us."

Kate laughed. "Yeah, I guess we do."

An awkward moment of silence occured as they stared at each other. It seemed to Tony as if she wanted to look away. But she didn't. Instead, she was falling deeper into his eyes, and he into hers. He leaned forward before one of them could speak, brushing his lips against hers, and for a moment, she didn't resist, closing her eyes, losing herself. Tony pressed in closer, a real and deep kiss, sliding his lips across hers softly and slowly. He could lose himself here, could kiss her for hours, forever...

Slowly, Kate pulled back. She opened her eyes, as if waking from a dream, to find Tony looking at her with a slight happy smile.

"I can't believe I just did that," Kate whispered. Tony smiled grew.

NCIS  
>NEXT DAY<p>

"What do you got, Abs?" Gibbs asked, Caf-Pow in hand.

"I've managed to restruct most of the bombs," Abs said as she took a sip. "It's your typical pipe bomb, though it looks like the pipe bombs the Columbine killers used. Single pipe with pipe caps, gunpowder and fuse, except this guy used more explosive gunpowder than Harris and Klebold did. Also, I found a signature on the pipe caps."

"Let me guess, a swatzika?" Gibbs said.

"Normally, when you deal with anti-Semitic neo-Nazi killers, you'd be right, but nope. A circle with cross hairs in the center. Like the Zodiac killer."

"The Zodiac? What, is he back and he's gone anti-Semitic?" Gibbs sarcastically said.

"No. Louie Myers is dead. I don't care what anyone says. Louie Myers was the Zodiac. This symbol is connected to anarchism."

"Great, an anti-Semitic anarchist serial killer targeting the Navy..."

**Review.**


	18. This One's For Me

**Been playing Mafia II. I'm not a racist. So I don't mean to offend any Italians, Jews, Germans or my fellow Irish (I'm Irish American). It's just story material.**

A man sat in his apartment bedroom. Dubbed by the media as "the Neo-Nazi Killer", he placed his hands on his ears as he tried to block out the memories. The voices. The visions. Everything.

_1985_

_The 15 year old boy was watching tv in his bedroom. He flipped through the channels. Cartoons. News about the Marine bombings in Beruit. Documentaries and other things. That's when he heard a commotion in the living room._

_"I know who you are!" a familiar voice said. It was Antonio, a family friend. The boy cracked his door to see Antonio pointing and yelling at his grandfather, his legal guardian since his father died of cancer in 1979. His Irish mother was a blind drunk that left them three days after the boy was born. His grandfather suspected she was IRA. He remembered his grandpa saying, 'My son married some mick. Typical. Irish have no honor, mein junge'._

Mein Junge. _German for "my boy". Grandpa always called him that. He only called him Eric when he was pissed. His grandpa was from Germany. He said he fled the old country when Hitler came to power. He normally spoke English, but would toss in some German like most foreigners. When Eric did something wrong, his grandpa would cuss him out completely in German._

_"What are you talking about, Antonio?" his seventy-two year old grandfather said, his think German accent a dead giveaway._

_"Don't play that shit!" Antonio screamed. "You're not who you say you are."_

_"What?!"_

_"You're a fucking Nazi!"_

_"Who the fuck do you think you are? How dare you call me a Nazi!"_

_"You're not Klaus Eckhart. You're Hans von Becker. You killed 100 people during World War II. Men, women and children. Jews, Romani and all others. You're a mass murderer. You're a fucking war criminal!"_

_The boy observed that his grandfather simply stared at him. Then he spoke._

_"So," he said. "You know who I am. You gonna call the cops?"_

_"I wanted you to admit it first."_

_Hans smiled. "Too bad for you. You should've called them first."_

_Before Antonio could respond, Hans produced a silenced Mauser pistol and shot him in both knees. The boy's mouth dropped as his friend crawled in his own blood._

_"You know something, boy?" Hans said. "For the last forty years, all I've done was kill. I killed for _mein Führer..._"_

_He shot Antonio in the back, in an area that wouldn't kill him. Antonio tried to crawl out of the house._

_"I killed for _mein family_..." Hans fired again._

_"I killed anybody that got in my way." Another shot. "__But this one...this one's for _me._"_

_Spitting blood through his mouth, Antonio managed to speak._

_"F...Fuck...You," he rasped before a final bullet ended his pathetic life._

_"_Ficken jüdisch stechen_," Hans said as he wiped his gun. The boy's lip started shaking._

_"This is how you deal with these vermin, mein junge," Hans said in German without turning around._

_"Vermin?" Eric said, also in German._

_"Jews. This wop kike somehow found how who I am...You might wanna sit down."_

_Eric sat on the couch._

_"Son, you're real last name isn't Eckhart. You're Eric Becker. Yes, I was a Waffen SS soldier during the war. During the war, I killed soldiers, half of them were prisoners. But that's war. In a war, people die. The Allies and the Soviets did the same thing to our people. 'Show no mercy, for no mercy will be shown towards you'. That's what my father taught me. He was a general during the first world war._

_"Since the war ended, I only killed people to protect our family. Plus this one Italian Mafia prick who demanded I pay...'protection'. Fucking wop. Son, the Fatherland will rise again. I just hope you're around to see it. You and I know my days are numbered. I'm just glad your father isn't here to see this._

_"Your father. He was a good man. A good son. He was a good father to you. Terrible shame he caught cancer. I told him to stop smoking. But you're father, heh, he was a rebel. Takes after his mother, God rest her soul. Now load the stiff in the trunk. I know a guy who can...take care of it."_

Ever since his grandfather died in 1999, Eric took up where the old man left off. Thirteen Jews, only five of which the police knew about. He knew. His grandfather was living through him. Eric Eckhart was dead. Hans von Becker had risen again, just like the Fourth Reich.

_We gotta take out that Italian Fed,_ his grandfather's voice said in his ear. _He could be a threat to us._

"What about that woman that was with him?" Eric asked.

_The woman? We may National Socialists, but we don't hurt women. Just take that man out._

"Of course, grandfather."

**Review. This story's about to get a bit more interesting.**


	19. Who Is He?

Eric pulled into the parking lot of a bar owned by Jimmy Napolitano, aka Jimmy Naps. He got out with a briefcase and approached the entrance. Eric had done business with Napolitano before. He was only an associate, since he wasn't Italian. He had even convinced FBI Agent Charles into working for the Mafia, for which he was well paid for. Eric had dinner with Napolitano and his men in celibration of bringing an FBI agent in their ring of influence.

Two guards approached.

"Hey, fellas," Eric greeted. "I'm here to see Mr. Napolitano."

"You know the drill kid," one said. He patted him down while the other searched his briefcase.

"Hmmm, nothing in the briefcase. What do you expect to get with nothing?"

"He's clean," the other said.

"My business with Mr. Napolitano is my own," Eric simply said.

The guard raised his eye. "Look at the balls on this guy. Okay, follow us."

Napolitano was sitting at a desk when Eric came in. Jimmy smiled and shook Eric's hand. Mentally, Eric gagged. Jimmy wreaked with the stench of cigars. _Typical Italians._

"Hey, Mr. Napolitano."

"Hello, Eric," Jimmy greeted. "Great to see you. What do I owe the pleasure of your company today?"

"Business," Eric said as he sat down in front of Jimmy's desk. "I need thirty-five grand in twenty dollar bills. Plus, some information about a couple of men."

"Ah, that's a lot of money, Eric," Jimmy said. "A lot of money. Tell me, why the hell should I give that much to a small time crazy man like you, huh? Convince me."

"I got a sure thing," Eric said. "You'll have forty-five by the end of the week."

"What kind of sure thing?" Jimmy said, leaning forward and putting his hands together.

"Sorry, Mr. Napolitano. That's a trade secret."

"Then forty-five is not enough," Jimmy said, leaning back. "I'd be more comfortable with sixty-five."

"That's bit steep, even for you. Fifty is all I can do."

"Eric, Eric...I have no guarantee that I'll get my money back, and you have nowhere else to go. So...how about sixty? Don't think of a it as interest, it's more like my cut of the profits."

"Fifty-five. Final offer or I go to the micks. Anything more than that, it's not worth my time. May I remind you that even though he's dead now, it was me who got Agent Charles in your pocket?"

Jimmy considered this. Charles was an ace in the hole. Too bad he had to die.

"Deal. I'll give you $35,000 today and you'll give me $55,000 by Friday," Jimmy agreed. "If you don't pay it back by then, the debt goes up by $10,000 every week. Capiche?"

"You'll get it by Friday," Eric said, as if it was nothing.

Jimmy smiled. "All right then. Sally, prepare $35,000 in $20 bills."

Sally nodded, took Eric's briefcase and left to get the money.

"Now, my information..." Eric asked.

"What do you need to know?"

Eric pulled out a picture and handed it to Jimmy. It featured two men in a surveillance like photo. One man was in his early thirties. Short dark brown hair. Almost but not exactly six feet tall. Typical federal agent suit and glasses, his head turned. Next to him was an aging man with gray Marine style hair cut. Same suit.

"Who are they?" Eric asked.

Jimmy narrowed his eyes at the picture. "Yeah, I know these pricks. The young guy is Anthony DiNozzo. NCIS Agent. The old guy is his boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Those bastards locked up my son."

"Hmm," Eric said, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "Then you wouldn't mind if I...took care of them."

"Is that your operation?" Jimmy said, eyebrow raised.

"Maybe...maybe not. Just saying. This Gibbs is ruining my plans and something must be done. I take it then I have your blessing for this hit?"

"Tell you what, Eric, I give you my blessing to whack Gibbs. Now you know I trust ya, Eric. But if you screw me, remember these wise words from the Bible: "_And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless._"

"Exodus, Chapter 22, Verse 24."

"I'm impressed, Eric," Jimmy laughed as Sally came back in with the money. "Just remember, if you try to get rid of me, I will make sure you stay awake long enough to feel _every single cut_. You're death will be _beyond_ excrutiating. You will suffer as I have suffered. So no funny business, _ah capiche_?"

"Sure."

"Thank you, Sally. You want to count it, Eric?"

Eric looked at the money in the brief case. Satisfied, he closed it. "I'll take your word for it. And I'll bring it back on Friday, along with your _cut_."

"I hope so, Eric," Jimmy said, standing up to shack Eric's hand. "Good luck, kid. But I gotta warn ya. If you attack Gibbs and fail, you can't come back. We don't know you. I made a deal with Gibbs to spare my son a life sentence. So if you claim ties to us or try to come back, I'll have Sally kill you and dump your body in the marsh."

"I understand."

"And Sally, when I tell you to dump a body in the marsh, you dump him _in_ the marsh. Not where some guy from John Hancock goes every Thursday to GET A FUCKING BLOWJOB!"

A made man snickered until Jimmy slapped him in the face. "Don't laugh! This isn't really TV!"

Eric left, also laughing.

**Review.**


	20. He is Here

**Based on the North Hollywood shootout and decided to the officers and SWAT who risked their lives to stop the two robbers. Two bank robbers wearing body armor unleash a barrage of ammunition unlike anything police have ever dealt with. While there is Tate, this chapter focuses more on Gibbs.**

QUANTICO BANK

This was it. This was the day he would take out Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Eric and the spirit of his grandfather had decided that Gibbs was more of a threat to the New Order than DiNozzo. He read up on Gibbs. Born in Stillwater Pennsylvania to Jackson Gibbs, an Army Air Forces World War II pilot, and a deceased woman. Gibbs was a former Marine sniper. Damn good one too. Served in Persian Gulf War. Wounded in action. Joined NIS after the murder of his wife and daughter in 1991. He was now the Special Agent in Charge of the Major Case Response Unit of NCIS in Washington DC.

Eric admired the agent's skills. _Tough badass_, he thought._ But that won't be enough. _Gibbs had thrawted more terrorist attacks than anyone could count. Hell, if Gibbs, had the information, he would've taken out Osama bin Ladin, thus preventing 9/11 and saving 2,996 lives. He would've talked Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold out of attacking Columbine High School.

Donning his ski mask and taking a couple of phenobarbital, he exited his Altima as his partner arrived. _I need an new car, _he thought. The AC was broken and the car was covered in dents and scratches, none of which he knew how they got there. And the radio antenna was broken when he loaned it to a cousin. Damn that cousin.

His partner, Desmund McGuire, was loaned to him from the Irish mob. In exchange the Irish mob would get a 35% cut of the profit. However, if all went according to plan, that wouldn't happen. Gibbs would be dead and he'd be rich. His grandfather's insurance money was running out.

Eric went to his trunk and retrieved the fully-automatic modified AK-47 with armor piercing bullets and drum magazines. Desmund brought with him a Bushmaster XM15 Dissipator, and a HK-91 rifle with high capacity twin-drum magazines. They both carried a Berreta 92.

They moved towards the bank. Once inside, Eric dropped the two bags on the floor.

"EVERYBODY DOWN!"

Everyone hit the floor as the Irishman unleashed his fury of bullets at the ceiling. Eric simply yelled at everyone to stay on the floor, pointing his Kalashikov at them. He shook his head as Desmund wasted ammunition. _So uncivilized._

"Heads down!" Eric yelled as he fired a two-second burst. Just about 10 instead of 50 like Desmund.

"Move and you die!"

"Dude, stop shooting that fucking thing!" Eric screamed. "I'm going deaf over here!"

What the two men didn't notice, but Eric was hoping for, police officers were responding to the incident. They had been spotted by a patrol car and a bystander. Because this was a Navy/Marine bank, Eric was hoping to draw Gibbs out and finish him. Then the Ayran Revolution could continue. Eric sent Desmund to get the money as he kept the hostages in their place.

"Stay down and no one will be hurt," Eric said politely. Glass smashed as Desmund fired a few shots to get through the door. "Cooperate and this was be bloodless and over very quickly. Thank you for your cooperation."

"You! The vault!" Desmund shouted at an employee. "Open the vault!"

"What?" the employee asked. The robber's heavy Irish accent made it difficult to understand. "What?"

"The vault!" Desmund yelled as he grabbed the employee and directed him towards the vault.

"I need a second set of keys."

"Who got them?"

"Jack, over there. Jack! I need your keys!"

Jack came over with the keys, Eric ushering him to hurry up.

"Hurry up, Jew."

"I'm not Jewish," Jack replied. Eric responded by kicking him in the back towards the vault. When the manager took the keys, Desmund shoved Jack to the floor then returned to the manager, who just unlocked the vault. Eric then decided to lure Gibbs further by paint spraying his Zodiac-style sign on the window.

Outside, a dozen policemen began gathering in a semi-circle around the entrance to the bank, using their patrol cars for protection. They were armed with 9mm Beretta 92s and at least one police woman was armed with an Ithaca 37 shotgun. Whereas the Beretta pistols had an optimal range of about 30 meters, the shotgun could fire a concentrated spread of buckshot twice as far. Positioned 40 meters from the bank, Sergeant Tracey Lopez could not miss.

NCIS  
>9:07 A.M.<p>

Tony and Kate stood in the elevator next to each other as it went to the squad room.

"Hey, Kate, you gonna be okay?" Tony asked.

"Yeah."

"What's going on?"

"I just don't want our relationship affecting our jobs..." Kate said. "Or the other way around."

Tony flipped the emergency switch on the elevator, stopping it and turning off the lights.

"Kate, look at me," Tony said. "Both eyes. Listen to me. I love this job and I love you." Her took her hands in his. "Kate, I may be still a kid inside, but I'm mature enough to not let my feelings for you effect my service to this country. Okay? I love you so much."

Kate started to get all misty eyed.

"What's wrong?"

"That..." she said, wiping her tears. "That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard you say. I love you so much."

Tony grew a genuine smile just before he leaned in to kiss her. When he tried to pull back to get back to work, Kate took his hair in her hand and deepened the kiss. Lost in her sweetness, Tony held Kate until they had to come up for air.

"However, kissing you will be difficult to resist," Tony said with a smirk. Kate chuckled, lightly kissing him again. She flipped the emergency switch. She held Tony's hand, gently squeezing it and looking at each other until the doors opened.

As they left the elevator, McGee hung up the phone and grabbed turned on the plasma screen.

"Guys, there's a bank robbery in progress at Quantico," McGee reported, putting the news on the plasma screen. A news helicopter was covering the scene.

_"...flying over Quantico right now, where there are several Metro police units surrounding what looks like the Quanitco bank that usually serves Navy sailors and Marines..."_

Gibbs suddenly noticed something as the helicopter's camera showed the entrance to the bank. "McGee, freeze frame and zero in on the window."

McGee did as told and zoomed in. Gibbs immediately went for his gun and badge after seeing the symbol on the window.

"Boss?" Tony asked.

"Gear up...It's him."

QUANTICO BANK

Gibbs and his team arrived in quick time at the bank. Flashing their IDs, they went to the officer in charge.

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS," Gibbs said to Tom Reiner. "How long have they been in there?"

"About six minutes," Tom answered. He grabbed his CB radio. "This is 15-L-10. All units stay off the air. I repeat, stay off the air unless you have a genuine emergency."

"They know we're out here?" Gibbs asked.

"I've been ringing the bank manager's office. No answer."

"We think we know one of these guys," Gibbs said. "One of them is the Neo-Nazi Killer."

"What?!" Tom exclaimed. "How do you know this?"

Gibbs pointed at the window. "See that? That symbol was the signature on the pipe bombs of the hospital bombing."

"Son of a bitch..."

"He is either psychotic or a paranoid schizophrenic," Kate put in. "He thinks the everyone's out to get him. So he will be heavily armed. They're going to come out heavy."

Tom bit his lip as he took a breath in frustration. He turned to a local police sergeant. "I want containment at the rear of this building right now."

"Yes sir."

BANK

Desmund came back to Eric with two million dollars. Eric had gathered everyone into a room and locked them in.

"Check for booby traps?" Eric asked.

"Yep. It's cleaned. I made sure the guy knew what would happen if he tried to pull off that shite."

"Come on. Let's go," Eric said.

OUTSIDE

Police officers had secured a perimeter, keeping the civilians and the news press out of the area, though the latter still managed to get their cameras a full view of the bank entrance. The police had their guns pointed at the entrance.

Suddenly, the doors opened. Two men in ski masks with guns and a duffel bag came out. Desmund was shocked to see the police. They had left within the eight minutes that most police responded to a bank robbery. Behind his mask, Eric smiled. Somehow, he knew. _Gibbs is here. I can feel his presence._

"Metro P.D.!" someone yelled. "Drop your weapon!"

"Freeze! Drop your weapon!"

And then the shit hit the fan.

Desmund raised his AK-47...and fired.

**Review.**


	21. You Drive, I Cover

**If you are Jewish, I mean no offense. This is just story material.**

Gibbs, Tony, Kate and McGee jumped as the shots rang out. Bullets rang out from the Kalashnikovs. Police were convinced the patrol cars would provide excellent cover, but the slug pierced straight through the metal. A man and a woman taking cover next to a police officer were both hit. The woman screamed as she grabbed her leg. Her body reacted immediately, releasing natural pain-killing chemicals, called endorphins. Her nerves went into shock, numbing her.

"The suspects may have armor piercing ammo," an officer screamed into his radio. "The suspects possibly have armor piercing ammunition!"

The two gunmen had steel-plated bullets, made in the former Soviet bloc, which could penetrate car metal. Organized crime syndicates of all ethnicities imported them by the hundreds of thousands. Each steel-coated bullet fired from the AK-47 at 850 meters per second. For police and civilians, nowhere was safe from such destructive power. Several police and the NCIS agents fired their guns, only to take cover as the gunmen fired at them. The gunmen continued to fire off ten rounds per second.

_"We are all pinned down by automatic gunfire!"_

Seven minutes into the firefight, Desmund climbed into the shitty 1996 Nissan Altima and urged Eric to do the same. Some officers hoped they would make their get away without further bloodshed. However, Eric knew he was packing the bigger weapons and he wasn't finished yet. And he wasn't here for a bank robbery. He was here to kill Leroy Jethro Gibbs. With Gibbs destroyed, the New Order would continue.

Observing that some bullets had disabled his other car, Desmund rejoined Eric. Metro police was facing a scenario they had never experiened before. Bank robbers who wanted to stay and fight, or at least one of them did.

The officer near the injured man and woman ducked as bullets started chipping away at the windshield, occassionally rising to fire a few shots. Seconds later, Sergeant Derek Fortunka was shot. The bullet slammed into his left shoulder. The force of the shot actually sent him twisting to the left and on his back.

"I've been hit!" he screamed into his radio. "Officer down at the Quantico Bank!"

_"Code 3. All officers stay down," _a dispatcher responded. _"Shots are being fired from AK-47s. There is an officer down."_

Tracey Lopez was still in cover behind a kiosk with her 12 guage shotgun. When she heard 'officer down', she had to make the big decision. By that time, two plain-clothes detectives had joined her, along with a police captain behind the kiosk. Lopez locked a shell into the chamber. An ace markswoman, she turned the corner, aimed and fired.

Nine pieces of buckshot streaked across the street and struck Eric Becker in the upper back. It was a textbook police body shot. She waited for the gunman to go down, observing him stagger a bit.

But beneath his bulky clothes, Eric and Desmund were wearing body armor, neck to toe. Knowing how accurate Gibbs and his agents' gunfire were, Eric spent weeks painstakingly cutting and stitching bullet-proof material, called Aramid, into full body suits. Both men reinforced their armor with metal plates over their vital organs. Eric carried more than 18 kilograms of protection, about the equivalent in weight of five bowling balls. Five times stronger than steel, Aramid can withstand the force of the pellets and is flexible enough to absorb the energy.

Recovering from the shotgun blast, Eric spun around and immediately locked on to Lopez's position. For a split second, they were looking at each other. Lopez noticed rage in Becker's red eyes. He raised his AK-47 and began spraying the fully automatic gunfire at Lopez and her companions. She and her partner covered the detectives, forcing them to the ground, as the bullets were racing through the keyshop while being hit by shrapnel. Lopez and her partner shielded the unarmored detectives as best as they could. Like the gunmen, she was wearing body armor. But her standard issue Kevlar vest was built to withstand lead projectiles from small arms, not steel coated bullets from a high velocity assault rifle.

A slug ripped through her vest into her lower back. A second bullet entered her side and went through her upper leg. She struggled to contain a scream as the intense burning sensation churned her.

"East 43. Officer needs help," she screamed into her radio. "BMA."

Two cops shot at Eric, hitting him in the chest area. He staggered, but he continued shooting.

"I'm hitting them, but they're not going down!" one cop yelled.

"They've got Kevlar!" a sergeant theorized. "Head shot!"

"Aim for the head!"

Gibbs began to notice that the radio was constantly screaming 'officer down'.

_"We need help out here. We've got officers down. Officers hit. Better get a TAC alert here."_

_"Anyone know how many officers are down?"_ a dispatcher asked. _"We have one?"_

_"Multiple officers down, damn it!"_

Suddenly, Eric noticed a gray-haired man ducked behind a patrol car with a Sig Sauer in hand. Behind the mask, he smiled again. Gibbs. _You're mine now._

Lifting the gun, Eric launched a murderous spray at the agents. Just as Gibbs came up for a shot, he ducked as the patrol car was riddled with unending hail of bullets. One bullet nicked his shoulder. He cursed as he grabbed at his arm. It wasn't serious, just a glancing blow, like a scratch. but it did hurt like hell.

"Gibbs!" Tony yelled. "You hit? Is it bad?"

"No," Gibbs replied.

"No, you're not hit?"

"Just focus!"

Gibbs started to notice some civilians were running to their vehicles. They were not cowering for cover, but retrieving their own handguns, shotguns and rifles. While he didn't want to risk civilians getting hurt, Gibbs would accept all the help he could get.

As increasing numbers of policeman, federal agents and armed civilians fired at them, the gunmen were pinned down.

"Get back inside!" Eric yelled at Desmund as he made to get back in the bank. Desmund looked at Eric, then looked back at the police. He fired a few shots then took cover inside the bank.

Eric growled with fury as he and Desmund placed their guns and bags on a table.

"Fucking shit," Desmund laughed as he lifted up his mask. "There's a lot of 'em out there."

"Yeah, well, we got _these_," Eric retorted, indicating his AK.

"Yeah, right," Desmund said as they reloaded. "These slack-jawed sheep-fuckers got nothing compared to these."

Eric pulled out of his band a stick grenade, a German _Steilhandgrenaten._

"What the fuck is that?" Desmund gasped.

"A grenade."

The rest of the people in the bank laid on the floor, but continued to watch the gunmen as they jeered and reloaded. Eric noticed a TV was on. He pointed at the manager.

"You!" he yelled. "Turn it up!"

"What?"

"The fucking volumn, you idiot! Turn it up!"

The man grabbed a remote and turned up the volumn. A woman with a microphone was standing in front of a news van.

_"Multiple officers and civilians are lying wounded, some crtically in the streets. There's also unconfirmed reports of another uniformed officer that has been shot several times..."_

Eric looked at the video of an officer using his belt as a tourniquette. He cursed. It wasn't Gibbs. The voices started again. _Kill Eric. Let's kill Eric._

Other said, _Watch out! Pull the trigger! They're gonna kill you!_

Grabbing his AK-47, he came at the people in the vault. "You! SHUT UP!"

They couldn't help but freeze, abeit with their hands up.

"You better shut the fuck up or blow your fucking brains out! You are _not_ killing me!"

Desmund came up and pushed the gun down. "What the fuck, boyo! They're just civilians."

"You didn't hear them?!" Eric yelled. "They were talking about killing me!"

"I didn't hear anything," Desmund said. "Let's just go."

"Did you see a gray haired agent out there?" Eric asked as they went back to reloading and equipping their guns.

"What?"

"A gray haired cop. His hair's kind of cut like a marine. You know, buzz cut."

"I don't know."

"Whatever. Look, you drive, I'll cover," Eric told Desmund. "Just create enough chaos and we're bound to slip through."

"Aye...Aye. If we separated, I'll meet you at the safe house tonight."

"I'd rather die than go to jail for the rest of my life. I will not be taken in by these Jews."

Desmund said something Eric couldn't understand.

"I'm not going to jail," Eric repeated as he put his mask back on. He cocked his AK-47.

"I'm not going to jail!" Desmund echoed loudly as he too cocked and locked his AK-47. They looked at each other, then made their move.

OUTSIDE

When the bullets temporarily stopped flying, Gibbs had called over his agents. He then repositioned them along with two Metro officers. McGee and an officer were stationed in support, Tony posted to his right and Kate and the other officer to the left.

The two gunmen came out, again, guns blazing.

"They're coming out again!" Gibbs yelled as he raised his SIG. He fired, hitting one in the arm, but they were covered in body armor from shoulder-to-ankle.

The gunmen noticed one cop had taken a police car and was racing toward the officer that was bleeding badly, the one who was tightening his belt as a tourniquette. Desmund fired at that one. The officer ducked his head enough to see but to present himself less of a target. Tracey Lopez ran alongside the car, using it as cover. Eric staggered as a slug glanced off his shoulder-armor, then sprayed a kiosk with gunfire. Lopez and the officer picked up the heavily bleeding cop and put him in the car and drove off as Eric was putting in a new ammo drum in his gun.

NCIS  
>MTAC<p>

Vance was watching the carnage in MTAC, from a news helicopter. The video camera gave him a bird's eye view of the gunmen as they sprayed the area with bullets.

_"Incredible! I gotta tell you, I am watching this and still, I can't believe this is happening!"_

BANK

Two officers fired with shotguns. One of the bullets hit the money bag in Desmund's hands. The bag started to hit red smoke. Probably hit a dye pack. Cursing in Irish, he fired in short bursts with one hand. With 50 cops and 3 federal agents shooting at him, he strolled back into the bank without a care in the world. Like it was nothing.

"The hell's he doin'?" a officer said next to Gibbs.

"Look at the duffel," Gibbs said. "I'm afraid who ever put that dye-pack in there is gonna be dead."

A civilian with a double-barreled shotgun was hit in the leg.

INSIDE

Desmund, groaning with fury, tossed the bag. He found the civilians and bank employees hiding in the vault. One of the them noticed the smoke coming from the bag and realized what was about to happen. As if he had a few Red Bulls, he closed the vault door quickly as Desmund opened fire at them. Ceasing fire, he turned his head to look outside.

OUTSIDE

Alone in the parking lot, Eric was now the focus of the gunfire. Though his armor protected him, the force of the slugs and buckshot literally sent him falling on his ass and knocking the wind out of his lungs. Getting back up and kneeling on one knee, he breathed deeply and reloaded. However, he ran over to his car. Reaching into the trunk, he put the AK-47 in the trunk and pulled out a Heckler & Koch HK41 fully-automatic rifle just as a shot hit some armor on his right arm.

"Want some?!" Eric yelled, motioning with his hand as a bullet hit his stomach armor. Then he fired. Kate fired a shot that hit Eric in the right arm armor. Like usual, he staggered, recovered and raked the car she was using with bullets.

"Come on, you damn Jew pigs!" she heard him yell. Psychotic, paranoid and racist. A trifecta of a fucked up personality. "You want my weapons? Come and get them!"

Eric took another hit to his leg armor. He started to wander and stagger as images of Mossad agents replaced the cops and NCIS agents. Suddenly, he started firing at the helicopter.

_"Woah! Now he's shooting at us! We're outta here!"_

Eric was still shooting at the helicopter when Desmund came out. As Eric reloaded, he followed Desmund to the getaway car. Desmund got in the driver's seat just after spraying one last burst. Eric shot another cop, who fell with a wound to the shoulder.

"Eric! Get in the car!" Desmund yelled. "In the car!"

"Stick to the plan. You drive, I cover," Eric retorted. "Kill the cops. Kill the feds."

As Desmund slowly started to drive, Eric tossed the HK41 back in the trunk and pulled out a stockless Type 56 assault rifle, fitting with a drum magazine, wounded a detective and two civilians. When he started to reload, Gibbs, Todd, DiNozzo and McGee used the brief moments to advance. Meanwhile, Gibbs had been calling SWAT.

"Where the hell is SWAT?!" he was heard screaming.

_"We are on our way over," _SWAT responded. _"Traffic is killing us."_

"I don't give a damn, just get over here! Bring M4s, M16s. Hell bring tanks, _just get over here_!"

Gibbs looked around. "McGee!"

"Yeah?!"

"Grab that armored car. Use it as a rescue vehicle. Get all the casualties out."

"On it!" McGee said as he sprinted for the van.

"Lieutenant, what's the position of the suspects?"

_"Two suspects heading eastbound."_

"Roger. DiNozzo!"

"Boss?"

"Get the c..." Gibbs started to say as he looked to the car they came in. However, it was covered with bullets. The windshields were shot out, the engine was smoking and the tires were flattened. _Shit._

"Find some wheels that hasn't been shot up..."


	22. It's Over

Eric fired as Desmund continued driving. The car had sustained six bullets, but the car was still mobile. The news helicopter stayed out of range, but close enough to still be able to film the robbers.

_"Suspects are leaving the bank building. They continue to fire into-into police officers..."_

_"Suspects are attempting to go mobile," _a police dispatch said.

Eric continued to walk on the street and fire even as Desmund yelled at him to get in the car.

Meanwhile, McGee and a recently arrived SWAT team enterd the bank. No civilian was in sight. He approached the vault.

"Federal agents! Open up!" he yelled. A few moments of eire silence. "Open up!"

Finally, the vault door opened, showing frightened civilians.

"They're gone," the manager said. "It's just us in here. They're gone."

"Bank's clear," a SWAT officer said to his radio.

"Stay in the vault," McGee told the civilians. "Let's go!"

OUTSIDE

McGee returned to the armored van and began evacuating injured civilians and police officers.

Over yonder, Eric took a shot in the right arm armor. He retaliated by wounded three cops. Another cop fired a shot that hit his chest armor, in the right shoulder. Eric shot him too, ironicly, in the right shoulder, hitting another cop too. Another cop hit Eric in the chest.

Eric started to slowly walk in circles. His vision got blurred and started to hyperventilate. Desmund opened the passenger door.

"Eric!" he yelled. "Get in the car! Get in the fucking car!"

Eric continued to stagger.

"Come on!"

Suddenly, Eric ran away from Desmund's car, firing as he did. Desmund could only watch in confusion.

"What the fuck? Ahh. Fuck him. More money for me then," Desmund said and hit the gas.

"They're separting!" Tony yelled at Gibbs.

Eric sprinted until he came beside an 18-wheeler truck. He tried to control his breathing as he reloaded.

"Come on!" he grunted as he tried to the drum in. Suddenly, a cop car rolled in. He finally managed to put the drum in, but when he tried to put the lever to arm the gun, he discovered it was now jammed. After a few seconds of trying to clear it, he tossed the weapon aside and pulled out a Beretta 92 pistol from his inside coat holster. Chambering a round, he waited until he saw Gibbs, DiNozzo and Todd jump out of the cop car.

_Here it is,_ Eric thought. _The moment of truth. The New Order rests on me._

_Do it,_ a voice said.

Eric came out from behind the truck and firing his pistol twice, raising at middle finger at Gibbs as well. Gibbs shot him in the leg armor. Eric staggered, dropping to his knee and dropping his pistol. He rose, picking up his gun and pointed his gun at Gibbs, also removing his mask. But he realized that he'd had enough.

The blonde haired, blue eyed smiled at Gibbs.

"He's gonna kill himself, Gibbs," Kate yelled at him.

Not if Gibbs had anything to say about it. He raised his gun, and fired as Eric started to retract his own. Gibbs' bullet hit the barrel of Eric's Beretta. The shot set off the rounds in the gun. The entire handgun exploded. Shrapnel slashed at his face and sent him tumbling.

"Hold your fire!" Gibbs screamed at the top of the lungs as he approached Becker. "Hold your fire! Hold your fire!"

Becker had turned onto his stomach, leaning on an arm on the pavement. He was groaning and bleeding. Gibbs expected Becker to cuss him out as a Jew pig. Instead, the psychotic serial killer laughed.

"I can't believe you got me!" Eric laughed. "You expert, rootin'-tootin' eagle-eyed Marine loving marksmen! I love it! I concede, Agent Gibbs. You win. I've seen it now. You're the Chosen One!"

"Whoever you are," Gibbs said, still holding his gun at him, "you're under arrest for the murder of five personnel of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps."

As a cop handcuffed Eric and read him his rights, Eric heard his dead grandfather's voice.

_"Don't worry, _mein junge_. This is just the beginning."_

Eric smiled.

Elsewhere, Desmund was making his getaway when a roadblock blocked his route of escape. With his foot still on the gas pedal, Desmund opened fire with his AK. SWAT returned fire. Bullets ripped into his tire and one hit his unarmored clavicle. The car swirved and crashed into a tree. Police officers poured out of their cars and approached the bank robber. They screamed at him to put his hands out of the window.

Instead, Desmund pulled out a Switch & Wessen 1911 handgun and put in under his chin.

"Fuck it," he said and pulled the trigger.

Over where Eric Becker was being put in a police car, Gibbs was on the phone with Vance. McGee came over in the armored van. He ran over towards Tony.

"Is it over?"

"Yeah, McGee," Tony said, panting with exhaustion. "It's over."

"Thank God," Kate whispered, following Tony. McGee didn't notice that Tony had put an arm around Kate.

**Review and re-read Chapter 19, "Who Is He?". I rewrote it.  
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	23. Do What You Always Do

Gibbs wasn't convinced that Becker and his accomplice were the only ones involved in the bank robbery. The murders, yes, Becker was alone. But getting those automatic weapons and body armor cost too much money for an amateur sketch artist's salary like Becker's to afford. His dead accomplice's record came out clean, no arrests, no even a parking ticket. Though Fornell gave Gibbs some intel that the CIA believed Desmund McGuire to be an IRA mole sent to America to acquire Stinger missiles. Somewhere along the line, he heard the name Naps.

"Name your conspirators and my boss will talk to a judge to drop the request for the death penalty," Tony said to Becker in Interrogation, leaning against the glass window.

Becker just smiled.

"I don't see what's funny," Tony said.

"You don't see anything," Becker said boastfully. "You have no idea what's really going on."

"Why don't you tell us?" Kate asked, leaning back in her chair.

"I'm just the tip of the ice berg."

"You're a racist, a bank robber and a serial killer," Tony sternfully reiterated, getting into Becker's face. "And you just found out your country won't tolerate it."

"You mean _your_ country won't," Becker simply replied, glancing at Tony before looking back at Kate. "Mine is growing. You think you can stop it? You can't stop anything." Becker leaned in towards her. "A word of advice. Take a last look while around you're alive, I'm an indestructible master of war."

Kate narrowed her eyes. "Is that a threat?"

Becker widened his psychotic smile. "It is what it is."

Tony sighed as he went for the door. "This is totally like _Law & Order_."

A DAY LATER  
>JULY 3, 2009<br>MORNING

Tony and Kate were at StarBucks, having regular coffee. They talked about movies, their days, the shootout, what made Becker tick. Then Kate completely changed the subject.

"You know what I don't get, Tony?"

"A lot of things, but what do you do have in mind?" Tony said, taking a sip.

"None of us have gotten any," Kate whispered.

"Any what?"

Kate looked at him. Tony's eyes widened a little bit as he realized what she was talking about. He chuckled a little bit.

"Yeah, that's right. We haven't..."

"I'm surprised that subject hasn't come out of your mouth. We've been dating for a month, albeit secretly, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little extra fun."

"I guess I just don't want to rush things," Tony explained.

"Tony, I'm seen you hit on women when you first meet them."

"That's different."

"How?" Kate asked.

"That's just harmless flirting," Tony said.

"Well, you flirted with that waitress and you got kidnapped."

"Oh, God. That was totally different and you know it."

"Really?"

"She drugged and kidnapped me because I was getting too close to figuring out what she was doing."

Kate nodded. "I guess you're right."

"I'm sorry, did you just say I was right?" Tony joked, smiling. "Can I record that, use it as a ringtone?"

"Tony," Kate said, getting serious again. "I'm serious. You're not the type that usually waits an entire month."

Tony looked down at his coffee.

"Kate, I'm gonna tell you what I told a woman I was close to..."

"And what is that?"

Tony swallowed. He wasn't really sure he wanted to say what he was thinking of saying. He told Jeanne this, but he was undercover and was cautious of falling in love while undercover. But he wasn't undercover and he genuinely loved Kate.

"If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you always got. And while what I got had its perks, I'm looking for something different now."

Kate said nothing, but her expression changed.

"Kate, I know I've gotten into bed with a woman only to not call her. You're not some piece of ass. I care about you. I...love you."

Kate looked down before looking back up at Tony. "I love you, too. And I appreciate what you're saying. And, I understand what you're saying. We'll take it slow."

"I would appreciate that. I love you."

"You already said that."

"Well, Kate, I'm saying it again."

Kate smiled as she leaned in to kiss him.

NAUTICUS, NORFOLK, VIRGINIA  
>JULY 5, 2009<br>USS _WISCONSIN_

On the old decommissioned battleship USS _Wisconsin_, now a museum, some Navy sailors walked on the decks, doing standard preservation of the World War II battleship. No navy in the world used battleships anymore, but the US Navy preserved their battleships as memorials. One 21 year old sailor was Rick Danson, tasked with preserving the _Wisky_, as the old veterans called her. The veterans, whose ages reached to their 90s, felt honor bound to watch over what was their home back in the war.

Walking on the starboard side, Rick was passing the 5 inch guns. In half an hour, he would sign off for leave. He started to hear a faint whirring sound. It sounded like a propeller. Maybe it was a sailor using a propeller fan to cool off on the hot July day.

Then noise made a distinct click as the whirring stop. Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the _Wisconsin. _The ship shuddered violently under Rick's feet. An instant later the blast wave hit him, a deafening thunder, followed by an enormous roaring, crashing sound, accentuated by the higher-pitched noise of shattering glass all around him.

The plate glass windows on the battleship's bridge above him and dozens of other veterans that Rick could see were blown to splinters. A glittering and deadly rain of glass shards continued to fall into the deck from the upper decks and debris slammed onto the deck and water for a few seconds, as a jet-black column of smoke shot straight up into the sky ahead of them. Rick was thrown on his back, his ears were ringing so loud he assumed he'd need a hearing later.

A stream of fire appeared above Rick just before the smoke started to block the sun. What fuel oil that was left on the old ship ignited, creating a firestorm. Flames leaped from where the explosion rocked the ship, between the smoke stack and the bridge. The choking smoke billowed over a mile into the sky.

After a second of shock, sailors on shore immediately went into action, including the ones from World War II. The elderly veterans acted as if they were in their 20s again. This was exactly what the Navy trained them for back in the 40s.

Rick made it to the top deck and surveyed the scene. All he could see was smoke. Endless smoke. And it was getting cold, because it was blocking out the sun. He looked around, bewildered. He saw fire running around the starboard 5 inch guns. After a while, even the railings got hot because the heat came up through the steel.

The flames raced aft. The wounded sailors began to abandon ship while others immediately went into fire control mode. Rescue boats from the harbor braved the flames, oil and smoke to drag sailors to safety. Some assisted in fighting the fire. The fire didn't consume the ship but it was hard to control. Rick came over to three men with a hose and held the forward end to contain the deadly flames.

A sailor came over with a fire extinguisher and sprayed two men who were alive but had flames crawling up their backs.

NCIS  
>MORNING<p>

Tim, Tony and Kate had just arrived in the elevator into the squad room. Tony got a buzz from his phone. He opened it to find a text from Kate.

"Whenever you're ready, Tony, I am too" it read.

Tony looked up to find Kate winking at him before sitting at her desk.

Suddenly, Gibbs was calling for them to gear up while turning on the TV. A battleship had just been bombed.

_"The USS _Wisconsin_, a battleship that has been decommissioned since 1991, was rocked today by a tremendous explosion earlier this morning. As I speak, the fires on the ship are still raging, with the Navy doing their best to fight the flames. Whether this was a result of terrorism or an industrial accident, authorities have not yet commented..."_

**Review.**


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